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Participant
Jul 9, 2023 2:55 PM UTC
Answered

Project timer for Adobe CC

Hi Community,

 

It would be really helpful if Adobe would integrate an automatic starting 'timer function' to every design i'm working on in InDesign/Illustrator etc. This way, I can easily track my hours and share them with my client. 

 

My feature request:

 

An automatic timer that starts automatically every time the document is opened - with an easy export function that exports date/hours/minutes to a .txt file

 

- Actual working time (based on cursor movement)

- Idle time (file open but no movement from cursor)

 

BR Dennis

Steve Werner
Steve WernerCorrect answer
Community Expert
Jul 9, 2023 5:16 PM UTC

If you want your feature request to be seen by product managers, you need to send it to the User Voice web page for the particular application you're working with. Here's the link for InDesign's User Voice:

 

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests

8 replies

rayek.elfin
Legend
Sep 3, 2026 3:45 PM UTC

I would suggest using a proper task management tool to keep track of tasks and one’s time tracking as a freelancer.

Myself, I have the open source and free Kanboard running on my own web server. No additional or hidden costs, no third-party registrations or subs, full control, accessible from anywhere, and I can collab with others in a team as well. 

Each task can be split into subtasks, with full time tracking for each. Click on a task to start the timer, do work, and stop the timer. Or work concurrently on multiple tasks with timers.

 

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Community Expert
Sep 3, 2026 6:42 AM UTC

The OS tracks this. The last time it was opened, and the last time it was modified. 

There’s countless tools out there already that have timers for tracking tasks. 

https://clockk.com/supported-apps/adobe-indesign

https://timingapp.com/adobe-indesign-time-tracking

Not available in the EU for some reason… https://exchange.adobe.com/apps/cc/100752/proworkflow-time-project-tracking-extension

 

If you are knowledgable in Excel you can make a time calculator or download a pre-existing one. 

 

There are online tools like Harvest which are pretty good for tracking projects and time spent on them and generate an invoice at the end. 

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Participant
Sep 2, 2026 3:06 AM UTC

Why has ADOBE not taken this seriously? Anyone who has used Adobe software professionally has had to cope with budgets and time spent on a project. So how could this NOT be a priority now with the onslaught of AI features on everything. Idle hands verses productive “pixel pushing” can be differentiated very easily with AI monitoring. PLEASE add this feature into ALL software. #gamechanger 

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Geоrge
Legend
Jul 9, 2023 5:52 PM UTC

InDesign not one program that you are use it when do a book, ebook and other things. 

 

For timetracking needs to use it special soft like this - https://www.workexaminer.com/ 

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Remember, never say you can't do something in InDesign, it's always just a question of finding the right workaround to get the job done. © David Blatner
Steve Werner
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jul 9, 2023 5:22 PM UTC

User Voice websites are available for many Adobe products. Here's a page which provides links and gives you suggestons for having your suggestions read:

 

https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/how-to-user-voice.html

 

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Steve Werner
Community Expert
Steve WernerCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
Jul 9, 2023 5:16 PM UTC

If you want your feature request to be seen by product managers, you need to send it to the User Voice web page for the particular application you're working with. Here's the link for InDesign's User Voice:

 

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests

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rob day
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jul 9, 2023 3:09 PM UTC

Hi @DBFRL_NL , The amount of time a document is open could be easily scripted—a startup script can listen for an open and close event and get the time for each event. Determining what the idle time might be a bit more complicated, but there is also a scripting idle event.

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James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
Jul 9, 2023 5:02 PM UTC

I have rarely had need to track my work by minutes or keystrokes, but I understand it's common in some shops. (Whether it's a productive way to track progress, production or billables... well, that's another question.)

 

Has no one written a plugin for this in all these years? No extension of the various time-tracking apps out there?

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