# Timer

## ⏱️What is a timer ?

Using the the timer features you can restrict the amount of time a respondent has to finish the survey and set a time out in seconds after which the respondent's survey will automatically be submitted. This feature can be very handy if you want to create quiz or tests where time should be restricted.

## 🚀 How to activate the timer ?

Timing can be activated from your [survey properties](/form-management/form-designer/form-settings.md) page by setting the **response time limit** option

![](/files/5shkO9zG2Ft433fCYAOM)

Once activated each respondents will be able to see the time they have left at the bottom of the survey.

![](/files/nBOH530wpPb4jYkBVyeq)&#x20;

## 💾 Persisting time left

By default the timer will be reset to its original time if the respondent reload the page in its browser. You can however set the settings to save the actual time that is left this way even if the respondents leaves the page and comes back it will calculate back the actual time that is left based on when the survey was first started.

To save the time left you have to activate the save progress options from the sessions tab, if you don't want to allow the respondent to save his session you may hide the save progress button.

![](/files/8TeGPdeLSDYjVxlhhYcV)

{% hint style="info" %}
If you have activated a security item as [key provider](/form-management/security/key-provider-concepts.md#what-is-a-key-provider) the time left will be associated with the current respondent restored by that security item. If you have set for example the invitation code security item as a key provider time left will be saved based on the invited email that is taking the survey.
{% endhint %}


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.ngsurvey.com/form-management/form-designer/timer.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
