In Olisto, it has recently become possible to set timers. At the moment the channel is only available via the expert mode and to set a timer requires some extra explanation.
What are timers?
A timer gives you the possibility to set the time between triggs. With the timer you have more control over when a trigg is activated. The timer channel has conditions as well as actions. It is optional to give a timer a specific name. With this name you can make more precise conditions and actions.
Conditions Timer channel
The conditions of the Timer channel are:
- A timer has ended
- A timer has stopped with the name …
- There is an active timer with the name …
Actions Timer channel
- Start a timer for x seconds with the name …
- Cancel the timer with the name …
The Timer channel can not be used as part of one trigg. If you want to use the timer, several triggs are needed at the moment. I will show it with an example.
Example of a trigg with a timer
Imagine, you want the following to happen automatically:
WHEN it is cloudy, THEN 60 seconds later my light has to go on.
You do this as follows
- Make a trigg with the condition WHEN the weather is cloudy and the action “start timer” with the time set at 60 seconds and give this one an ID “cloudy”. Save this trigg.
- You are making directly a second trigg. This one has as condition WHEN Timer ID “cloudy” is ended AND “A timer has ended” Then turn on the light.
Notice: Write in both triggs the timer ID exactly the same. The ID is capital letter dependent. An ID with the name “Cloudy” is a different ID than “cloudy”.
Both triggs are linked by the timer. If it becomes cloudy, the timer starts to run. If the timer has ended, the second trigg activates and your lights will turn on. But with this trigg the timer will always activated when it is cloudy. Also at 3 AM in the morning. Probably you do not want your lights suddenly turned on at that time.
You can make the conditions even more specific by, for example, let the timer start only when it is cloudy AND it is a specific day/time AND there is someone at home (device and location channel). In this way you prevent that the timer constantly starts when it is cloudy. Of course, in the actions you can add more possibilities, such as notifications, alarm systems or other products or services.
The timer channel is not immediately available for everybody. Because of the more programmatic character of this version of the timer, we decided to only make it visible if you have turned on the Expert mode in the next release of the app.
Where is the Expert Mode located?
The Expert Mode you can find in the app under More > Profile & settings > Settings. Here you can enable or disenable the Expert Mode.
How do you make a trigg with a timer?
If you want to make a trigg with a timer it is important to think beforehand good about when and how the trigg will be activated. In the example above I use the condition “weather is cloudy”. However, if jou only use that condition, the timer will often start again. Our weather channel receives every couple of minutes new data. If that changes from Cloudy to Sunny to Cloudy, the timer will start at the first “cloudy” notification, but then start again at the second “cloudy” notification.
So always make triggs with specific conditions. Use for example the conditions Day and Time. This way a timer can only start on a specific day or in a specific time period. You can use multiple conditions to start the timer, but these have to be true at the same time. So do not use a condition “WHEN it is 9 ‘o clock” in combination with the weather channel. It can be just that one second at 9 ‘o clock that it is not cloudy which makes that your timer will not start.
How do you test a trigg with a timer?
A tip if you want to test a trigg first, use the Olisto Now channel!
Make a button with which you for instance the conditions imitate. To test the above, you change the weather channel to an Olisto Now button. Press the button and see if everthing works properly. If this is the case, you can delete the button in the conditions and add the weather channel. This way you can quickly test multiple conditions, for example a button in combination with location and time period. If the trigg is being activated (what you can test with a notification), the condition will also work if you switch the button with the weather channel or another channel what regularly receives new data.
Questions
If you have any questions about the Timer channel please check our forum.