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Timer settings control when candidates can start a test, how long they have, and what happens when time runs out. They live in the Timer section of a test’s Settings.

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How to Configure Timer Settings

1

Open the Timer Section

Go to your Tests page, click Settings next to the test, and choose Timer.
2

Turn the Timer On

Turn on the switch at the top right of the Timer section.
3

Set the Duration

Enter the Duration in minutes. The countdown starts when the candidate sees the questions.
4

Choose What Happens When Time Runs Out (Optional)

Tick Submit automatically when time runs out to submit the test when the duration ends. If you leave it unticked, candidates can still submit after the timer runs out.
For non-Socratease quizzes, auto-submit only submits the proctoring session, not the quiz answers. If a candidate hasn’t manually submitted their answers, all responses will be lost. For Socratease quizzes, both answers and proctoring data are submitted automatically.
5

Set a Start Window (Optional)

Under When can candidates start?, pick a date and time for either or both of these:
  • Cannot start before: the earliest date and time a candidate can start
  • Cannot start after: the latest date and time a candidate can start
Times are in your local timezone, and candidates see them in theirs. If you set a date without a time, midnight is used.Click Save settings when you are done.
Timer section with a duration, automatic submission and a start window set
If a Socratease quiz shows questions one-by-one with no question navigation, each question is timed separately. Duration, auto-submit and Hard stop do not apply to that quiz, but the start window still does. You can change the display mode from Quiz behaviour in the test’s Settings.

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More Options

Click More options at the bottom of the Timer section to show two less common settings. Both need a Cannot start after date to be set first.
Hard stop and Late-start grace period fields under More options

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Hard stop

A Hard stop shortens the time of candidates who start late. For example, if the duration is 30 minutes and the Hard stop is 12:30 PM, a candidate starting at 12:15 PM gets only 15 minutes. The Hard stop cannot be earlier than Cannot start before or Cannot start after.

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Late-start grace period

The grace period gives candidates time to complete the demo test and set up their device. AutoProctor adds a default 5-minute grace period when start and end times are set.
The grace period does not apply to the Hard stop.