# A timer to simulate real time ? not really satisfying **URL:** \ **Category:** Questions about Thunkable X\ **Created:** [October 24, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806 "2021-10-24T20:11:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bibbi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@bibbi](https://community.thunkable.com/u/bibbi)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/1 "2021-10-24T20:11:48Z")
hi I use a timer to automatically update a data viewer even with an interval of 10000 milliseconds it’s. not very pretty somebody has an another idea ? ---
**Author:** ![Dean\_Artis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Dean\_Artis](https://community.thunkable.com/u/Dean_Artis)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 8:13pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/2 "2021-10-24T20:13:44Z")
> [@bibbi](#): > > it’s. not very pretty What do you mean by this? Please also explain what you want to happen. ---
**Author:** ![bibbi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@bibbi](https://community.thunkable.com/u/bibbi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 1:09am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/3 "2021-10-25T01:09:04Z")
hi it flashes and when i use a much smaller period (5 milliseconds) i no longer see the data but only a spinning circle **update** I got around this difficulty by using a list viewer and it reacts very well when I delete a line in google sheet the list is updated without flash with the timer but I no longer have the images associated with each line. … ---
**Author:** ![jared](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/jared/32/138473_2.png) [@jared](https://community.thunkable.com/u/jared)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 4:35am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/4 "2021-10-25T04:35:17Z")
A good question is: what is your current app setup and what effect are you trying to have. If you begin using the real-time database you can add listeners to your data and bind changes in the UI to changes in the db! > **Learn more** > > Tired of struggling with databases and API’s? Need a little functionality that’s not available yet thru current blocks? Experience your own bootcamp! Are you ready to step-it-up or speed it along? Need some custom code integrated? Contact me today to learn how to book a 1-on-1 coaching session or yet freelance building support! > > Office Hours: > Mon - Fri > 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM ESt > > Send me a message today: > [Jared@KnowCodeConsultants.com](mailto:Jared@KnowCodeConsultants.com) ---
**Author:** ![kartik14](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/kartik14/32/44782_2.png) [@kartik14](https://community.thunkable.com/u/kartik14)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 5:14am UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/5 "2021-10-25T05:14:43Z")
Here’s the thing - the listviewer updates _“without flash”_, as it supports only text. On the other hand, the data viewer list supports a custom layout. It would always reload (means would show the loading icon), as it also has images to update inside it. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![bibbi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@bibbi](https://community.thunkable.com/u/bibbi)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 7:59pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/6 "2021-10-25T19:59:18Z")
hi when you talk about real-time db you talk about firebase ? ---
**Author:** ![jared](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/jared/32/138473_2.png) [@jared](https://community.thunkable.com/u/jared)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/7 "2021-10-25T22:01:28Z")
Yes! One of the strong points of The Firebase blocks is that they allow you to add a listener to any of your data buckets. ---
**Author:** ![bibbi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@bibbi](https://community.thunkable.com/u/bibbi)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/8 "2021-10-26T19:50:48Z")
hi But the management of tokens is a real headache without forgetting the design of the database ---
**Author:** ![bibbi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/db5fbb/32.png) [@bibbi](https://community.thunkable.com/u/bibbi)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2021, 8:11pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/9 "2021-10-29T20:11:10Z")
I could be satisfied with this solution but apart from using firebase there is really no way to display the photos without flashing them ---
**Author:** ![ioannis](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex015/user_avatar/community.thunkable.com/ioannis/32/146956_2.png) [@ioannis](https://community.thunkable.com/u/ioannis)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2024, 1:14pm UTC](https://community.thunkable.com/t/a-timer-to-simulate-real-time-not-really-satisfying/1578806/10 "2024-11-08T13:14:36Z")