[APP][Pro] Advanced Virtual Device (Device Capabilities App) with Unique Text Status Indicator

With one downsize, the (elapsed/running) time is not displayed in the status indicator of the tile, one has to enter device setting to view it.
Also, the displayed time is not very readable and actual.
But with using an AVD for it, thát is now possible f.i.

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@DirkG @Arie_J_Godschalk
I made one mistake, when using the textfield with BLL time formatter like time('HH:mm:ss') it can’t be displayed (yet), while it is only capable of showing numeric values.

But, I’ve read about a plan somewhere about making text/string fields as status indicator possible:

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Brings me to another idea:
How about showing the formatted elapsed/duration time in the ‘Units’ field of the Numberfield, Arie? Is that even possible?
Then it can be showed on a status indicator of the mobile app tiles
Something like this:
Screenshot from 2023-03-16 16-05-48


Just nice to show:
Live view Mobile tile and HomeAssistant (via MQTT)
Peek 2023-03-16 16-32

@Arie_J_Godschalk On HP23, at present I cannot generate a TEF template; is this a known issue? Create TEF does not do anything. On v2.9.29.

Well, TEF/Templates are not working 100% yet on importing on the HP2023, and i am waiting a bitt till i put my time in it again.
Only thing that was not working correctly is finding and location your own flowtokens during import (which is hardly ever used in TEFs currently) :slight_smile: .

However, export should work as far as i know.
And import mostly also, with old TEFs or New ones.

So, couple of questions:

  • Which version of Homey do you have running? rc50+?
  • Where are you generating, AVD?

Ah, wait, i have found a bug when exporting TEFs from AVD it seems…

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  • AVD + Flow export
  • AVD v2.9.29
  • HP23 fw: 10.0.0-rc.58

Does Tef export from app settings work?

Found and solved this bug, now i also found another one: the icon is not imported correctly, trying to solve that one too first before releasing.

I like AVD, but I’m not a fan of bundeling app togehter. Why not using and extending Chronograph devices so they can be used as a stopwatch without the need od AVD.
Every app has its advantage but it should be usable also standalone witb full functionality.
As long as this is all optional it’s ok.

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It is optional…

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They can already.
And for most people they are fine i suppose.

But personally i want a lot more customisation, and i’m not gonna build AVDs in every app that has devices you want customised :slight_smile:
That would seem like the other way around :wink:

But i’ll create a setting in the apps so you can completly disable it (altho, if you don’t set any reflection, there is not actually anything happening.

Please note that Chronograph was already sending out the realtime messages when a timer/stopwatch/transition was updating, because it was needed in the Chronograph App Settings.

“All i did” is include it (again optionally) into DC, by listening to those realtime messages.
So you don’t need any flows anymore and can configure more parts of the AVDs in the settings with just one or two clicks.

But nobody needs to use it if the don’t want.

I personally cannot wait till i find time for myself (and a few remaining features are completed) and design a few needed AVD’s for timer-controlled-groups…

But let me solve the TEF bug on the new HP2023 first :stuck_out_tongue:

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Solved, in test now: Device Capabilities | Homey

In test now:

  • Multiple Bugfixes with exporting and importing TEFs (with AVDs, flows and icons)
  • Some improvements in those parts/views.
  • Toggle’s in the App Setting (under the functions logo/button) to disable BLL and Chronograph Reflection:
    image

When you disable one, it will be disabled directly, it will remove the listeners.
However, if you still want to save a few hunderd Kb potential memory, restart the app after disabling it (ones ofc) to make sure it was never even initialized.

(Funny to toggle Chronograph while seeing an AVD being updated with a stopwatch - and not - and again - and not…

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yes there it works TEF flow export

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Please report it if there are things not right after flows are imported, there might still be a few bugs and i didn’t spend time on the flowtokens yet.
(Flowtokens is how i find “Entities” from other apps, like find BLL Variables you have: Through it’s flowtokens.
So, those kind of entities, when importing, wil show: Create new, but no items in the select list.

The 2.10.1 TEST version can export TEFs on HP23 / fw v10.0.0-rc61 see this message:

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@Arie_J_Godschalk, @Peter_Kawa, in my 3 years with Homey, I haven’t seen any need to display the times of a timer, stopwatch or transition in the device overview, even with the original tiles of the Chronograph app. I also can’t think of a use case for extracting a time into a variable. That’s why I’d like to see a useful example sometime.

But for what?

I also support Ronny’s point. Arie, you say that such functions are optional, but still the apps become more complex and complicated to understand. And if I wanted to use a complex and complicated SmartHome system, I would switch to Home Assistant and not buy a new Homey Pro 2023… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I want to mention that you are doing a great job Arie. And the many additional features you’ve added to your apps over the past weeks and months (probably) make sense. I just haven’t understood the point of some of the features yet. That’s the point I was asking about meaningful use cases. There is no need to reply to my post, as the features have already been explained multiple times. However, what I would like to see and understand is a meaningful use case so I can move forward.

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Good point!

Perhaps you (and others) can create a (short) list of functionalities that could be considerd “Advanced”/“Complicated” and we can hide some stuff behind a “Advanced mode” toggle!?

In test now:
@DirkG and @Peter_Kawa

Part two of reflection: Devices.
You can now select (multiple) devices to be reflected on an AVD field:
image

Does it need further explaination?

This also works for all fields:

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Okay, last update for today:
@DirkG and @Peter_Kawa Here is a practical example of part2 of Reflection:
I finally have created my AVD smoke-detector (part 1).

I have created one new AVD, added one filed (for now) with Smoke Detectors, set it to reflection:devices, and selected all my smoke detectors.
Now this AVD is automaticly updated if any smoke detectors change.
This works for all types of fields.

N.b. No real new loadings or anything has been build: this just uses the existing Watch-flowcard functionality plus other existing parts of DC; thus no extra performance required.


image

I will also be rebuilding my grouped Lux-Sensors with this: because this has an option to automaticly exclude device-values that are older then (setable) x number of seconds, f.i. 3600 seconds old.

So, if create an AVD with lux and group a few devices together with reflection, if one LUX is not being updated, it will be automaticly excluded.
This will be very handy, because sometimes my lights don’t switch on/off, because one of the lux-sensors in the group is not working. This will solve that.
:slight_smile:

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I think I get it, Arie, fiddled with it and it does what I think it should do :wink:
#daretoask Is it possible to control the grouped devices as well? If only OnOff would be possible that’ll be great.

That is a very practical idea!

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