Easier than 3.14
Once you get your head around the fact that dashcode’s UI is there to look pretty, and not really to add anything to the ease of creating widgets, making the most simple of things (ie. a countdown timer) is no more difficult than re-skinning any other kind of template.
The hardest part is ignoring the parts of the interface that suggest they import thing into the .wdgt package, they are clearly there to infuriate and confuse the user. The best way to change (for example) the icon, is to delete the Icon.png file in the well hidden file browser, and replace it with your own, very easy and straightforward… of course, not as easy and straightforward as clicking on the “widget icon” section, then importing what you want and the software doing all of the resizing, renaming, “regenerating” and whatnot. It feels more like you are ripping off someone elses design, rather han modifying a template. I have, thus far, left the “created in dashcode” image on the back side of the widgets I’ve played with, as I wouldn’t have bothered making them without it, but I may change this to something more suitable if i do much more, perhaps “Created in despite of Dashcode”, we’ll see!
Anyway, just another countdown timer that nobody else has bothered to do, perhaps because of the niche-ness of the market, is available on the downloads page