Is it possible to use CommandFusion’s GUI designer to control my things?
I really don’t like the current User interface and it would be good to be able to create and share my own.
Hi there,
Aaron from CommandFusion here. I believe it is possible…but I am not from the technical side. I will get someone from the support department to respond asap. In the meantime, you might want to try talking to other CommandFusion community members on our Google Groups: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/commandfusion
guiDesigner can indeed be used to create your custom UI, then it runs in iViewer on your mobile device.
iViewer can connect to any TCP/UDP/HTTP system, so you would need to know the protocol Smart Things uses to be controlled. Most likely it is a HTTP REST API, which iViewer can nicely integrate with using the CF.request call in our JavaScript API:
http://commandfusion.com/docs/scripting/net.html#cF.request
Hey Guys! Thank you very much for your response. I love guiDesigner and I’m definitely planning to use it in conjunction with smartthings.
I also thing that some basic documentation would be much appreciated, and as a token of appreciation I’d love to share a couple of interfaces with the community if possible.
Cheers
We don’t have a SmartThing Hub yet, so not much we can offer in the way of examples or docs for SmartThing integration specifically. Checkout the docs provided by SmartThings to see how iViewer could query/control it.
@alex_leiva … thanks for the support of my examples.
We are definitely on the same page.
The REST-API has some published documentation (or did…); though I am not sure how complete it is. There are fairly simple requests to pull lists of objects (Devices) and their properties and update them.
–>I have an early downloaded PDF copy of this API documentation (in case it doesn’t have a live link anymore… didn’t check).
At the “extreme”, if SmartThings were to never wish to see fully capable alternative GUI’s; these API’s are at least meant to give sufficient control for Cloud-to-Cloud cooperation. For example, a voice command “dim kitchen lights” – spoken to The Ubi or a Siri extension, if properly authorized, will be able to use the API to look up the object by name, and send the dim command to it … and probably get the acknowledgement. Same thing for logic “rules / Apps” processing from other HA systems, like WigWag.
But, optimistically, This same API can be used to write alternative GUI’s with our own ideas of “look & feel” that are partly borrowed from the expensive competitors, but also can evolve.
Automation of activities (lights on at Sunset, motion sensors, etc.) are the main feature of SmartApps intended to make the need for “traditional controls; even in touch-screen format” (dimmer sliders, thermostat dials…).
But basic controls are more important to some people and will never go away.
Chat me up via Private Message (@ tgauchat) and we can discuss if you want to collaborate on this in some way.
…CP.
Right n the mark although If you tell Siri to dim the lights your garage door will open but I’m eagerly waiting for my Ubi because I’m not lazy enough as it is.
It’s an old discussion. Would appreciate some follow-up.
Have anybody been able to use CommandFusion to implement custom dashboard for SmartThings? Their mobile app is such a junk with all this “shake to display labels” nonsense, lame graphics and no landscape mode. A simple control panel would be great for a wall-mounted iPad mini.
Still waiting for our ST hub here. And just to clarify to other readers (it sounds like you were calling our app junk, but I know you meant the ST app) our app allows you to create a fully custom interface for controlling basically anything.
I am just waiting to get my hands on an actual API or protocol documentation to see what would be involved in controlling the Hub both locally and possibly remotely. Hopefully at least local control is simplified without requiring internet connectivity, but I just don’t have the answers.
Maybe someone from ST will be able to share more?
@commandfusion, yes I was referring to ST app.
The ST hub cannot be controlled locally, but the ST cloud apps can expose custom REST endpoints. The whole process is quite tedious and unfortunately ST doesn’t allow to generate API keys like other IoT cloud services do. Instead it uses OAuth2 three-way authentication handshake which is not embedded device-friendly.
One of the usability problems with ST is that there’s no simple way to create scenes. Everything has to be manually coded in the “smart” app running on the server. To run the scene, one typically creates a virtual on/off button that activates the scene when pressed. But the UI is outright ugly. For one thing, buttons don’t have labels. Or actually they do, but the labels are not displayed unless you shake the phone. How smart is that?
So the simple project would be to us CF UI to activate scenes via REST endpoints instead of virtual buttons.
SmartThings Web Services Developer’s Guide OAuth specification is here: https://docs.google.com/a/smartthings.com/document/d/14F5CnjIbI8Ru4-MrjHXhnBGGQngUevVEe7H3cqoGHKA/edit
And the tutorial can be found here: http://build.smartthings.com/blog/tutorial-creating-a-custom-rest-smartapp-endpoint/
What do you mean, “no simple way to create scenes”? Is choosing the dimmers/switches you want in the scene and then tapping one button not simple enough? The user can make as many scenes as he/she wants with all kinds of different combinations of levels and groups. To recall or play a scene, it is again one button, just tap it.
Sure a lot easier than writing about what isn’t perfect in the world. Please tone it down a bit dude. I learned a long time ago that proper critique is helpful information that can improve the future, whereas complaining is useless information about what happened in the past.
Hope you have a great day 
Whoa mate, since when you’re appointed a moderator of this forum? Sorry, I missed the memo. But hey, it’s a free country and thanks goodness no one have to ask your permission to complain if they feel like it.
Besides, I was not even complaining, but looking for a solution to a real problem. I want to use iPad as a wall-mounted scene controller but the ST app looks even uglier on the iPad than on iPhone and it does not work in landscape mode. Can you fix that?
BTW, if scenes work so remarkably well in the ST mobile app then why did you waste your time writing the “scene machine” app?
Ciao bambino
Woah guys take it easy. If anybody’s happy with the current capabilities that ST app offers is great. Some of us want a bit more customization.
I’m still waiting for my ST Hub so I can’t do much. I got the “select things” email last week so hopefully it will arrive soon.
The biggest feature I want is the be able to control my things from a floorplan. In that way I can see and manage my whole house instead of separated devices.
I’m not a programer, I’m a designer so I can help with the UI. So what else do you guys think we need in the app?
We might work together on this.
@alex_leiva,
I think customizable UI is the key. When in comes to automation, everyone has it’s own ideas how it should look. There’s no “one size fits all”. CommandFusion is attractive since it allows to create custom control panels. Another very interesting project is openremote.org - same idea, except their UI designer is cloud-based rather than a windows app.
Controlling everything from the iPhone is only practical when you’re away from home. When you’re at home it’s just plain nuisance.
Not only do I have to carry my phone all the time. Think about how many steps it takes to perform even simple tasks like changing the dimmer level:
- pull my phone out of pocket
- unlock it
- flip thru screens to find ST app
- tap the app and wait for it to start
- oops, it crashed. Repeat again.
- navigate to the “things” screen
- Shake the phone to figure out which switch is which
- tap a tiny gear icon to open “details” page
- change the dimmer level
- lock the phone
- put it back into my pocket
The wall-mounted or desktop control panel is absolutely necessary once you go beyond “look ma, I can turn on the lights with my phone” phase. That’s why all the big boys in this business do it.