Countdowns in overlay text

Any text value on an overlay’s card can hold a running countdown, 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 runs it for you.

Using the generator

Rather than write one by hand, press Build… beside a text field that can hold a shortcode. It gives you a picker for the time, or the date and time, and hands back the finished shortcode to paste into the field.

The shortcode itself

• to (required): the target time, 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).

A shortcode with a mistake in it is left exactly as typed, on screen, rather than disappearing — if a countdown is not counting down, that is what to look for.

Next

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