View Variable
Published 17 Sept 2026
Turns a key into a readout. Point it at a variable, a goal or a figure from the Statistics page, and it updates as the number does.
Countdown timers get a clock face. Goals and countdowns can be drawn as a bar or a ring. This is the key you look at rather than press.
Settings
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Show | What to display. The list holds every variable (Variable:), every goal (Goal:) and four figures from the Statistics page (Stat:). | - |
| Label | A short caption under the value, so the key can name itself. Leave blank for just the number. | Blank |
| Format | How the number is written. See below. | Auto |
| Currency | A three-letter code such as USD, EUR or GBP, used by the Currency format. The symbol, its position and the separators all follow it. An unrecognised code falls back to a plain number. | USD |
| Display | Value only, value and target, percent, bar, or one of two ring styles. Only meaningful for things with a target. | Value only |
| Prefix | Text put in front of the value. | Blank |
| Suffix | Text put after the value. | Blank |
| Decimals | How many decimal places, 0 to 4. | 0 |
Formats
| Format | Example output | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Auto | 1234 or 1:02:05 | A plain number, unless the source is a countdown, which gets a clock. |
| Number | 1234 | Grouped with your locale's separators. |
| Currency | $1,234.00 | Uses the Currency code. |
| Compact | 1.2K | For figures that outgrow a key. |
| Clock | 1:02:05 | Hours only appear once there are hours. |
| Clock, always hours | 0:01:05 | Fixed width, so the key does not jump about. |
| Clock, minutes only | 62:05 | For timers you think of in minutes. |
| Duration | 1h 2m | Reads better than a clock for long timers. |
An explicit choice always wins over Auto, so a countdown can be shown as a raw second count if that is genuinely what you want.
The Stat: Total revenue source defaults to Currency with two decimals. The other three stats default to plain numbers.
Display Modes
These apply to anything with a target - goals, and countdown timers, which know the length they reset to. Everything else ignores them and shows the value.
| Mode | What you get |
|---|---|
| Value only | Just the figure. |
| Value and target | The figure, with of $500 underneath. |
| Percent | 62% in place of the figure. |
| Progress bar | The figure with a bar under it, plus the of ... line. |
| Progress ring, percent | A ring around the key with the percentage in the middle. |
| Progress ring, value | The same ring, with the value in the middle. |
A countdown ring shows elapsed, not remaining, so it fills up as the timer empties. A paused timer is drawn in amber, so a ring that is not moving cannot be mistaken for one that simply has not ticked yet.
A subathon timer extended past its original length gives a negative here, which clamps to an empty ring. The clock keeps counting normally.
For a timer, Progress ring, value is usually the one you want: the ring carries the progress and the middle still shows the time left.
Available Statistics
Four figures come straight from the Statistics page's own calculation, so a key cannot quietly disagree with what the app shows:
| Source | What it counts |
|---|---|
Stat: Total revenue | Everything earned. Written as money using this key's Currency setting. |
Stat: Total events | Every recorded event. |
Stat: Chat messages | Chat messages received. |
Stat: Supporters | Distinct supporters for the life of the channel. |
On the Key
| What it shows | When |
|---|---|
| The value, with your label and chosen display | Normal. |
Pick source | Nothing chosen yet. |
? | The variable or goal no longer exists in TipLink. |
<name> over Offline | TipLink is not running. The key remembers what it was pointed at. |
Pressing the key does nothing to TipLink. It forces a redraw and flashes ✓, which is a cheap way to confirm a key is live rather than frozen.
Common Uses
A subathon timer
Point at your countdown variable, Display: Progress ring, value, Format: Auto. The ring fills as the stream runs down and the middle shows the time left.
A tip goal
Point at the goal, Display: Progress bar, Format: Currency, Decimals: 2. The bar and the of $500 line both come along.
Tonight's take
Stat: Total revenue, Label: Tonight. Nothing else to set - it is already formatted as money.
A viewer-controlled counter
Any variable an alert increments. Prefix and Suffix turn a bare number into 💀 14 deaths.
Things to Watch For
Keys redraw at most ten times a second. A variable driven by chat can move faster than that. Intermediate values are dropped, but the final one always arrives - a number rewritten twenty times a second is not readable anyway.
Text variables show as text. Formats and decimals only apply to numbers.
A ring needs something to divide by. A countdown reports both the time left and the length it resets to; if the second is missing, the key drops the ring and shows the value instead. Ordinary numeric variables have no target at all, so they always show the value whatever Display says.
Related
- Variables & Goals - creating the variables this key reads.
- Goal Targets & Events - targets, overflow and completion.
- Statistics - where the four
Stat:figures come from.