User Guide

GDZ Flip Clock is a split-flap desktop clock: it displays the time on split-flap cards that flip as the digits change, like the old airport departure boards. You can customize the colors, font, and language, run it in a window, use it as a desktop widget, or display it in full-screen mode — and even use it as a Windows screen saver.

New in version 1.1

• Countdown timer (F2) — set a length in hours and minutes; the remaining time is displayed on its own split-flap cards and an alarm rings when it is up.
• Sound — a split-flap click whenever a card flips, with a volume slider and an option to play the click only when the minute changes.
• Window opacity — fade only the background while keeping the cards solid.
• Lock position (L) — locks the clock's position so a stray click can no longer drag it.
• Global shortcut — a combination of your own that shows and hides the clock from any application.
• Custom themes — save the colors on screen under a name and reuse them, in the clock and in the screen saver.
• Options are now laid out in four tabs (Clock, Window, Colors, App).
• New default appearance: no ":" separators and both digits of each group on a single card.

• Run FlipClock.exe.
• The clock starts in the Classic Dark theme, with no border and centered on the screen.
• On startup, you'll briefly see the F1 Help message: press F1 at any time to view the list of shortcuts.
• Right-click the clock to open the menu (Themes, Timer, Options, Help, Exit), or press O to open Options directly.

Only one instance of Flip Clock can run at a time. Launching it again simply activates the existing instance. To close the app, press Esc or right-click and select Exit.

The clock interface consists of the following elements:

• Time cards — one card per digit, or a single wide card for each pair of digits (hours, minutes, and optionally seconds). Each digit changes with a split-flap folding animation. By default, each pair is displayed on a single wide card, the way a real split-flap board shows a number.
• Separators — the colon : between time groups. Hidden by default: with each pair on one card the groups are already visually distinct.
• AM / PM — an extra card that appears only in 12-hour format.
• Date (optional) — a line below the time showing the weekday, date, month, and year in your language.

The time is read directly from the system clock, so it is always in sync with Windows and never drifts.

Right-clicking the clock opens the context menu:

The notification area icon

Flip Clock also places an icon in the Windows notification area (the system tray). Right-clicking it opens a menu with Timer, Options, Help and Exit; double-clicking it brings the clock to the front — useful especially when it is running as a desktop widget behind other windows.

Open it by pressing O or from the context menu. All changes are applied immediately and saved automatically. A Live Preview updates in real time to reflect the current configuration. Options are grouped into four tabs: Clock, Window, Colors, and App.

Clock

Window

Colors

The text color adjusts automatically to maintain contrast with the cards; themes that include a custom text color override it.

App

Press F2 — or pick Timer from the right-click menu or from the notification-area icon — to open the countdown panel. It docks beside the clock, without covering any other panel already open.

• Duration — two fields, h (0–23) and min (0–59), so the longest countdown is 23 h 59 min. Type the digits, use the arrows beside each field, or step them with ↑ and ↓. 90 minutes is entered as 1 h 30, not as 90 in the minutes box.
• Start begins the countdown; while it runs the button reads Stop, the panel shows the time left, and the duration fields are fixed.
• The countdown itself runs on its own split-flap cards, so it never takes the time off the clock. They show MM:SS, or H:MM:SS while more than an hour is left, and they use the clock's colors, font and theme.
• They appear beside the clock, avoiding overlap with the clock itself and with any open panel (Options, Help, or the timer). This ensures they never cover either the time or the window you were using.
• Drag the cards anywhere. The app remembers their position and uses it again next time, as long as the space is still free: if the clock or a panel has moved over it in the meantime, the cards go back beside the clock instead of overlapping them. They stay above other windows so the countdown is never buried, and they are not shown in the taskbar.
• The last duration used is remembered too, so the panel opens ready to run it again.

When the time is up: the cards stay on screen showing 00:00, the alarm tone starts, the clock comes to the front — even if it was hidden with the global shortcut — and a "Timer finished" notice appears in the clock's own split-flap style, positioned beside the cards so it never covers what it is announcing. Dismissing the notice stops the tone and hides the cards.

Closing the panel (Esc, F2 or its ✕) does not stop a running countdown — reopen it to see the time left or to stop it. Pressing Esc on the cards hides them without stopping it either; only Stop ends the countdown.

There are 21 ready-to-use themes. Choose them from the right-click Themes submenu (with thumbnails and live preview), or from the Theme selector in the Options window.

Each theme defines the background color, the two card colors (with or without gradient), and the text color. After applying a theme, you can continue adjusting the colors manually in the Colors section.

Custom themes

Once you have the colors the way you like them, press Save current theme in Options → Colors and give them a name. Your custom themes are listed after the built-in ones, in the theme selector and in the right-click Themes submenu, and Delete this theme removes the one selected — the 21 built-in themes cannot be deleted. Saving again under an existing name updates that theme instead of piling up duplicates.

Custom themes are shared between the desktop application and the screen saver. The clock remembers which theme is in use by name, so two themes with identical colors remain distinct.

Flip Clock supports four window modes, which can be enabled from the Options window or with keyboard shortcuts:

• The window can be resized freely by dragging its edges.
• The clock remembers its size and position between sessions (in window mode).

Flip Clock can also be installed as a Windows screen saver.

Install: open Options (O), press Install as screen saver, and the Windows Screen Saver Settings window opens with FlipClock already selected — leave it selected and click OK. No administrator rights are required: it installs only for your user account.

While active: the clock covers all monitors in full-screen mode. Any key press, mouse click, or mouse movement closes it, like any screen saver.

Uninstall: go back to Options and press Uninstall screen saver.

The interface and the date line are available in 10 languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Korean, Chinese, and Dutch.

Choose the language in Options → Language. If you don't select one, the app uses your Windows language; if your Windows language isn't available, it falls back to English. The change is immediate: menus, options, help, and the date line all switch to the selected language.

Press F1 at any time to view this list inside the app.

Language, update checks, separators, and reset are configured from the Options window.

These keys only work while the clock has the focus. The global shortcut set in Options → App is the exception: it shows and hides the clock from anywhere. It is a simple toggle — with the clock on screen but buried, the first press hides it and the second brings it back in front. The notification-area icon is the other way back to a clock pinned behind other windows: double-click it.

The app can optionally check for a newer version in the background and show messages from the developer. You can force the check with Options → Check for updates. If there is no internet connection, no update check is performed: the clock keeps working normally.

All of these options are set from the interface; this table summarizes their names, what they control, and their default values.

If you find Flip Clock useful and would like to support its continued development, you can make a donation via PayPal by scanning the QR code below.

Thank you for using Flip Clock.