Can Tap Forms track time directly from an Apple Watch?

[juan juan]

I’m looking for a database app with time tracking features and was wondering if Tap Forms supports time tracking via Apple Watch — like starting/stopping timers or logging durations from the watch itself. Anyone using it for this or know if it’s possible?

[Brendan]

Hi Juan,

I’m sorry but Tap Forms doesn’t directly have a timer function built-in to it.

Maybe it could be possible with an Apple Shortcut that then calls a Tap Forms form script and transfers the data to it. But not sure.

Thanks,

Brendan

[juan juan]

Thanks, Brendan!

How much are Shortcuts supported by Tap Forms? I’ve been experimenting with a method using Shortcuts where Numbers is used to signal and record a start time and a stop time, then calculate total duration via a formula field. Would something similar be possible in Tap Forms—especially if I wanted to log time across different categories, like Company A, Company B, etc.?

Also, how extensive is Tap Forms’ support for Apple Watch? Can you view all fields on the watch? What about editing existing entries?

Appreciate any clarification!

[Martin Burkhardt]

I would also like to hear more of the features of Tapforms pro on the Apple Watch.
So far I didn’t see any documentation.
In the past post I only read, that Taprooms was read only on wachtOS
Is this still true?
How about taking audio notes?

[Brendan]

Tap Forms is still read-only on Apple Watch. Most fields are viewable, but not relationship fields or Table field.

As for Shortcuts support, if you open the Shortcuts app, you can see what shortcuts Tap Forms Pro supports.

Currently there’s 4 shortcuts in Tap Forms Pro:

1. Create Record
2. Open Document (and form)
3. Open Tap Forms Pro
4. Run Script

The Create Record and Run Script shortcuts are the most powerful.

If you look at the Grocery Shopping List form in the template library, there’s a few scripts in there that you can run to do things like ask Tap Forms what items you need to buy, tell Tap Forms you bought a certain item, or tell Tap Forms you need to buy a certain item. Those can all be controlled with shortcuts. I did a demo in Toronto to Apple just over a month ago and they were very impressed. I could say “Hey Siri, what do I need to buy today?” and it would speak out the things to me. Then I could say “Hey Siri, I just bought” and it would ask “What did you buy?”. Then I would say “Maple Cookies”. Then it would say “Ok, I’ve just taken Maple Cookies off your list”. It was pretty cool.

I plan on making a video showcasing that.

[Brendan]

So I suspect you could use a Shortcut to call out to a script that sets a Start Date & Time and then another shortcut that sets the End Date & Time value and that’s sort of like a timer. Another field could display the total duration. Or when you tell the shortcut the end time, you could have the script say back “ok, I’ve marked the end of your task, you took 2 hours, 20 minutes doing that task”. Or something like that. The possibilities are endless with some scripting and shortcuts.

[juan juan]

I think the Apple Watch is a great tool.
The watch is especially useful for quickly logging predefined forms without needing to pull out my phone. I think expanding on this would benefit a lot of users. Here are some ideas I think could be really useful:

Quick Entry with Predefined Templates: Being able to tap one button to log things like “Arrived on Site”, “Client Consult Started”, or “Took Medication” would be amazing.

Voice Dictation into Specific Fields: Use Siri or voice input to quickly log a note, especially for hands-free workflows.

Complications for Quick Access: Add complications for instant entry or to show a status/count (like number of entries today).

Time Tracking Start/Stop: A simple stopwatch-style form button to track time worked on a task, synced back to a form with timestamps.

Checklist Mode: Great for field workers or consultants running through repeatable steps. Checkboxes right on the wrist.

Handoff from Watch to Phone: Start something quickly on the watch, and finish it in detail on the phone or Mac.

I see the watch as a lightweight input device, not a full database editor — but a powerful tool for quick captures that sync later. I think a video showing use cases like these might even spark ideas for others too!

[juan juan]

I’m attempting to test something on the apple watch, but I can’t get any forms to appear. I have the sync set up to icloud on macos, iphone, and I’ve also toggled “display on apple watch” but on my watch the only thing that shows up is the refresh button with an arrow. Am I doing something wrong?

[juan juan]

I noticed that the toggle for display on apple watch keeps going off. I have 2 documents with data, one is from a template, and even the chatgpt template doesn’t work — or I don’t know how to get a reply in the form from chatgpt. I’ve already entered my api key and used it to build the other form.

[Brendan]

you can only have one document setup for Apple Watch at a time. Then you need to go to the Customize Form screen for each form and enable the Show on Watch function there too.

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