Learn how to manage a Clock widget in a Multizone Signage Channel. This article is for Communicators who display the current date and time in a layout zone. After you read this article, you can add the widget and configure how the date and time appear.
For: Communicators — Clock Widgets
Prerequisites
-
You must be a Publisher for the selected location, channel, or channel group, or have another role that allows you to manage the channel.
-
Create a Multizone Signage Channel with at least one layout and one zone. See Create a Multizone Signage Channel.
Note: Configure Clock settings in the layout editor. A Clock widget opens there with four tabs: Edit, Actions, Properties, and Permissions. Clock does not have a Content tab.
Add a Clock Widget
Add Clock to a zone from the channel Edit tab. Follow the Add Widgets to a Zone steps in Create a Multizone Signage Channel, then select Clock from New widgets.
The widget appears in the content list for the selected zone. The picker description is Show the current date and time.
Note: Select Existing widgets when you want to reuse a Clock widget that already exists in another layout in the same channel.
Configure Clock Settings
Clock settings that control layout, what displays, time zone, capitalization, and date or time formats are on the layout editor Edit tab, in the Properties accordion. These labeled fields are the same values as the keys on the Properties tab.
-
Select Channels from the Appspace menu.
-
Open the Multizone Signage Channel.
-
Select the Edit tab.
-
Select the layout that contains the Clock widget.
-
Select Edit from the layout more options menu.
-
Select the Clock widget.
-
Select the Edit tab.
-
Expand Properties.
-
Set the fields you need.
-
Click Save on the layout editor header.
| Setting | What you set |
|---|---|
| Style | Single Line or Double Line. New widgets default to Single Line. |
| Display Format | Date only, Time only, Date, then time, or Time, then date. New widgets default to Date, then time. |
| Time zone | Default (Device local time), UTC, or an offset from -12 to +12. New widgets default to Default (Device local time). The offset is applied to the device time. Devices must sync with NTP for accurate values. There is no daylight saving control in the editor. |
| All Caps | Turns capitalized date text on or off. New widgets have All Caps off. |
Below those fields, the Date and Time tabs control how each part is formatted.
Date Tab
Use the Date tab when Display Format includes a date.
-
Select the Date tab.
-
Turn on Use Custom Date Pattern when you want to type a pattern, or leave it off to use the format dropdowns.
-
If Use Custom Date Pattern is on, enter the pattern in Date Pattern. The placeholder is MMM d yyyy. Open the information icon for Date Pattern Format Specifiers.
-
If Use Custom Date Pattern is off, set Date Format, Day Format, Month Format, and Year Format.
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Date Format | Double digit or Single digit. New widgets use Double digit in the editor. |
| Day Format | None, Abbreviated (Mon, Tue), or Full (Monday, Tuesday). New widgets default to Abbreviated (Mon, Tue). |
| Month Format | None, Double digit, Single digit, Abbreviated (Jan, Feb), or Full (January, February). New widgets default to Abbreviated (Jan, Feb). |
| Year Format | None, Two digits, or Four digits. New widgets default to Four digits. |
Time Tab
Use the Time tab when Display Format includes a time.
-
Select the Time tab.
-
Turn on Use Custom Time Pattern when you want to type a pattern, or leave it off to use Time Format.
-
If Use Custom Time Pattern is on, enter the pattern in Time Pattern. The placeholder is h:mm tt. Open the information icon for Time Pattern Format Specifiers.
-
If Use Custom Time Pattern is off, set Time Format to 12-hour or 24-hour. New widgets default to 12-hour.
Date and Time Pattern Characters
When you use a custom date or time pattern, these characters are available in the pattern tooltips.
| Pattern | Description |
|---|---|
| d | Day of the month (1-31) |
| dd | Day of the month with leading zero (01-31) |
| ddd | Day of the week, abbreviated (Mon, Tue, Wed) |
| dddd | Day of the week, full name (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) |
| M | Month (1-12) |
| MM | Month with leading zero (01-12) |
| MMM | Month, abbreviated (Jan, Feb, Mar) |
| MMMM | Month, full name (January, February, March) |
| yy | Year, two digits (24, 25) |
| yyyy | Year, four digits (2024, 2025) |
| h | Hour, 12-hour (1-12) |
| hh | Hour, 12-hour with leading zero (01-12) |
| H | Hour, 24-hour (0-23) |
| HH | Hour, 24-hour with leading zero (00-23) |
| m | Minute (0-59) |
| mm | Minute with leading zero (00-59) |
| s | Second (0-59) |
| ss | Second with leading zero (00-59) |
| tt | AM/PM marker |
Font and Text Style
Change Clock text style from the formatting toolbar in the layout editor, not from the Properties accordion. The toolbar includes font family, font size, color, bold, italic, underline, and alignment. Use the Date or Time control on the toolbar to style each part. The Date and Time selection stays in sync with the Properties accordion tabs.
New widgets use Arial, 64 px, left alignment, and white text. White text can look faint on the light layout canvas. Change the color if your layout uses a light background.
Use the other Edit accordions for placement and style:
-
General — Name, Size, Position, Opacity, Animation In, and Animation Out.
-
Appearance — Background color, background image, border color, thickness, corner radius, and margins.
-
Code — Widget GUID and Custom CSS.
Tip: To open the layout editor from the channel Edit tab, select Edit from the layout more options menu, or click the + button on the widget and select Open editor.
Note: The Properties tab lists the same settings as searchable key-value pairs. Change the labeled fields on Edit unless you need to add, disable, or delete a key.
Note: Widget actions are configured on the Actions tab. Clock does not add widget-specific events or methods. See Configure Signage Channel Widget Actions for shared action setup. Widget permissions are configured on the widget Permissions tab, not on the channel Permissions tab. Clock supports Publishers only. Editors appear only for widgets that have a content datasource. See Configure Signage Channel Widget Properties.