The difference between leaving the office at one time and another is measured in queues rather than minutes, particularly heading out of the city. This page tracks the exact time left until 5:17 pm, whether that is when you close the laptop, when you reach the car, or when somebody expects you at the other end.
There is nothing to start and nothing to choose. The page reads the clock on your device, works out the gap to 5:17 pm, and redraws it every second for as long as it is open. Leave it in a background tab if you like; the number will be current whenever you look back at it.
Airport boards, metro timetables and prayer time tables are all printed in 24-hour form, which is why 17:17 is the version that matters when checking something against a screen or a printed sheet. This page shows 5:17 pm for everyday reading and 17:17 beside it, so the two never need converting in your head.
Common questions
Does the number update by itself?
Yes. It is recalculated every second from your device's clock, so nothing needs refreshing or restarting. Whatever is on screen is the current gap to 5:17 pm, not a figure worked out when the page first opened.
What happens once 5:17 pm has passed for today?
The count rolls over and carries on towards the same time tomorrow. That happens on its own at the moment the time passes — the page does not need reloading and there is nothing to reset by hand.
Which clock does the countdown use?
Your own. It reads the local time and time zone from the device in front of you, which in the Emirates means Gulf Standard Time, UTC+4. Travel and the count follows whatever the device picks up.
Will it alert me when 5:17 pm arrives?
No. This is a live figure rather than an alarm — nothing sounds, vibrates or notifies at zero. If you need interrupting at 5:17 pm, set an alarm alongside it and use this page as the running total.