Countdowns, clocks and stopwatches in overlay text

Any text value on an overlay’s card can hold a time that runs by itself, without a data source: type a shortcode into it, such as Live in [countdown to="20:30" format="{mm}:{ss}" done="On air"], and InterDirector keeps it up to date. There are four:

Countdown: the time left until a moment.
Clock: this Mac’s time of day.
Date: today’s date, with names in the language you choose.
Stopwatch: the time since the overlay went on air, or since a time you choose.

A value can hold several, inside other words: [date format="{weekday} {d}.{M}."] at [clock].

Using the generator

Rather than write one by hand, open the overlay’s settings and press Build… under Shortcode Generator. Choose Countdown, Clock, Date or Stopwatch, pick a format from Presets or edit it, and the generator shows what it reads right now. Copy Shortcode, then paste it into a text value.

Countdown

[countdown to="20:30" format="{mm}:{ss}" done="On air"]

to (required): the moment, on this Mac’s clock. A time alone (20:30) means that time today; add a date (2026-09-23 20:30) for a specific day.
format: which units to show, using {dd} {hh} {mm} {ss} (always two digits) or {d} {h} {m} {s} (no padding), anywhere in the surrounding text. Leave it out and InterDirector shows {hh}:{mm}:{ss}. Using a smaller set of units rolls the larger ones into it, so {mm} alone shows 90 for an hour and a half to go.
done: what to show once the countdown reaches zero. Leave it out and it holds at 00:00:00 (or whatever your format shows for zero).

Clock

[clock format="{HH}:{mm}"]

format: {HH} {H} the hour of 24 (padded, not), {hh} {h} the hour of 12, {mm} minutes, {ss} seconds, and {AM} for before or after noon. Leave it out for {HH}:{mm}.
lang: the language {AM} is written in, such as en (AM, PM) or fi (ap., ip.).

Date

[date format="{weekday} {d}. {month} {yyyy}" lang="fi"] shows lauantai 3. lokakuuta 2026.

format: {d} {dd} the day, {M} {MM} the month as a number, {month} {mon} its name in full and short, {yyyy} {yy} the year, {weekday} {wkd} the weekday’s name in full and short. Leave it out for {d}.{M}.{yyyy}.
lang: the language for the names, such as en, fi or sv. The generator writes your Mac’s language unless you choose another, so the overlay reads the same on any Mac.

A month written after a day takes the form it has there in that language (“3. lokakuuta”), and on its own its own name (“lokakuu 2026”).

Stopwatch

[stopwatch format="{mm}:{ss}"] or [stopwatch from="20:00"]

Without from, it counts from the moment its overlay goes on air. Taken off air it shows zero, and put back on air it starts again from zero.
from: a time (20:00) or a date and time (2026-09-23 20:00) to count from instead, whether the overlay is on air or not. Before then it shows zero.
format: the countdown’s units. Leave it out for {hh}:{mm}:{ss}.

If one does not run

A shortcode with a mistake in it is left exactly as typed, on screen, rather than disappearing: a misspelled name, an hour of 25, or an unknown language. If one is not running, that is what to look for.

Adding an overlay and binding data to one, if you have not already.