I’m honestly at my wit’s end here. My 9-year-old wants a “Flow.” When saying “Alexa, start party,” a Flow should trigger that—effectively—starts a playlist but also (and this is the key part) cycles the ceiling light through various colors. It’s an IKEA bulb. Since controlling Spotify on Alexa via Homey isn’t possible, I have to use a two-pronged approach. I’m getting Spotify running via an Alexa Routine—that part works fine. Now I need the Homey Flow for the bulb.
I’m setting up a Flow, but I can’t get the desired result. I set the start button, then “change color randomly,” followed by a one-second timer. But how do I make it run in a continuous loop?
It’s not working, even after installing the “Loop” app. You’re supposed to just create a “Party” Flow, use the start button, and set “Party” to run 10 times… Screenshots attached! I just don’t get it! Seriously!
Maybe good if you check the example in the first post of the Loops app topic: [APP][Pro] Loops.
In order for it to work:
You need to initiate the loop. That part you have done in your second screenshot.
Then you need to create separate flows for what needs to happen when the loop starts and iterates (based on the WHEN Loop X started/iterates/finishes flowcards). As part of those flows you use the flowcard from your first screenshot that randomly sets the hue of the light.
That’s only part of the set of flows. You need to recreate the example included in the post I linked:
The set contains 4 flows:
1: That one you have: it is in your second screenshot
2: That one you also have: it is in your first screenshot. You can delete the 1 sec delay.
3: You need to create this one too, as this is the one that determines what happens at iteration 1 through 10. Use the same ‘Eine zufällige Farbe setzen’-flowcard.
4: This one is optional: it is what happens after the last itteration.
The easiest way is if you connect the three WHEN cards from 2, 3 and 4 to your ‘Eine zufällige Farbe setzen’-flowcard.
Also: does the ‘Eine zufällige Farbe setzen’-flowcard also switch on the light? If not, that your need to add that flowcard to flow 2.
I found a video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30QnhoVkvrw&t=10s but this one is also confusing. He’s using a flow called “Blinking Light Flow” but when you look at his cards he’s using “Flashing Lights”
The example shows 1 canvas that includes 4 streams.
I was referring to those streams as flows. But let’s stick to stream.
I suggest you do the same, so all the parts are on one canvas for an easier overview.
The first stream (1) is the only one that has the start button. So when you start the flow, you are starting the first stream. The other three (2, 3 and 4) get triggered automatically based on the running loop.
I think the WHEN card in your second flow stops the flashing after the first iteration. That’s not what you want.
The flashing stops automatically when the loop has done all its iterations (999 in your example).
Then the WHEN ‘The loop x finished’-flowcard triggers. You can use that one to specify what needs to happen. For example; switch off the light.
If you also add a start button to that same flow as a second trigger, then you can also stop the iteration mid -way by adding the extra flowcard that you included in your second flow (Stop loop x).
