Counter overlay with precise timing

Sounds like you were digging too deep. The zip file has a readme/license file and a folder called Hit Count. That folder IS the template. The files inside: the 2 PNGs, Media folder and the .moef file are the elements of the template FCPX needs to have grouped together.

To install Hit Count (the folder), start in the Finder. Type Command-Shift-H to open your home folder. Find the Movies folder and open it. Inside, look for a folder named Motion Templates. If you don't have it, create a new folder called 'Motion Templates.localized' (without the quotes). Open Motion Templates.

If you had Motion Templates, then look for the Effects folder. If you don't have one, you can create a New folder and name it 'Effects.localized'.

Open the Effects folder.

Create a New Folder and give it a name you would like FCPX to use. It can be named whatever you like, but as a suggestion, name it Sight-Creations or FCPXTemplates or simple "Counters".

Open this new "category" folder you just created and place the entire Hit Count folder inside.

You can now bring FCPX to the front and find the effect in the Effects browser under the category you created.

Set up the effect they way you want to use it, then before you keyframe the count, Save Effect Preset (the button at the bottom of the Effect inspector column). Then on subsequent clips, use your effect preset instead.

PS - if you want or need to hide the .localized extension, right click on those folders and select Get Info from the popup menu. Check the Hide extension option in the Name & Extension section.

Give this a try:

https://fcpxtemplates.com/ngtopics/HitCount-Effect.zip

It's an Effect. Installation instructions here:

https://fcpxtemplates.com/installing-plugins-for-fcpx/

It's a square box with a number in the center. It has an OnScreen Control for easy positioning. It has parameters to control the color and opacity of the box elements (back color/outline) and an optional drop shadow. You can also Scale this if needed.

Here's how it works:

Set the playhead at the beginning of your clip.

Set a Keyframe on that position (Hit Count = 0).

Move the playhead to the point of the first "hit" and increment the Hit Count parameter. Repeat until finished. [If the slider gets to be frustrating, you can double click the value and type in the number.]

The counter will increment on the exact frames you place made changes to the value.

(low quality GIF)

Since this is an effect, you can set up the look and position of this and Save Effect Preset which in effect will let you customize this effect as your own.

You can add as many of these to one clip as you need (separate counters for separate events). Saving an effect preset will also save the number of Hit Count effects you apply to a clip with the preset (their position, color, size, etc. -- you may want to Save Effect Preset **before** you keyframe values!)