How to use a stopwatch on a Mac
Open the Clock app, click Stopwatch at the top of the window, and click Start. Click Lap to record a split, and Stop to record the final time. Apple’s guide says the stopwatch times events to the hundredth of a second, including laps.
Steps
- Open the Clock app.
- Click Stopwatch at the top of the window, or choose View > Stopwatch.
- Click Start to begin timing.
- Click Lap to record a lap or split. Repeat as often as you need.
- Click Stop to record the final time.
- To clear the stopwatch, click Reset. To carry on from where you stopped, click Start again.
Things worth knowing
Timing continues if you switch to another app or your Mac goes to sleep. That makes the stopwatch good for a long task: start it, do other things, and read it later.
You can change the face. Choose View > View Digital Stopwatch or View > View Analog Stopwatch.
For quicker access, click the time in the menu bar, then click the Clock widget, as the next tip explains in opening Clock from the menu bar.
Stopwatch or timer
A stopwatch counts up and has no end point. Use it when you want to know how long something takes, such as a recipe step or a workout set. A timer counts down to zero and alerts you. Use it when you want to be told when time is up. The timer steps are on their own page.
Clock is not the only place
Clock is a full window, so if you want to time something while you work in another app, you need to switch to it. NotchStar’s Timers tool has a stopwatch tab in the notch. It counts up with a ring that completes every minute and keeps counting until you stop it. Use Clock when you need laps. Timers reset when NotchStar quits.
