Dashboard Theming (Custom CSS) and Mounting Hardware Ideas

@NinjaBread where did you find the powerpoint cover and what exactly is it?

I had a tray mount tablet at one point for my wheelchair and went back to the armrest mount because you’re constantly activating something you didn’t mean to.

But there are people who use them with a swing away top so there’s a layer over the tablet screen that you push off when you want to get to the tablet.

Just thought I’d mention that as one more option for protecting the less-expensive set up.

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@txsarge, @625alex

Sorry, I may have made that name up! It’s the faceplate that clips over power outlets.

Found it at my local hardware store: http://www.bunnings.com.au/deta-6000-series-wallplate-cover_p4331269

The one I used had a mounting block behind the plate so it gave me more room to work with when making a hole for the cable at the bottom.

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It definitely works, I only tried it once a while ago as I remember the browser didn’t play too nicely with refreshing the dashboard (had to kill the browser and reload to get an up to date status). Might try it again though.

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No longer an option now that the code is closed source, right?

We have a Surface Hub 84" wall mounted at work that I’m really trying to test out, but the conference room where they put it is always in high demand :smile:

In all seriousness though I don’t think this would scale well on these ultra large screens, unless you have an ungodly amount of devices, and even then it would take you forever to find the devices on it.

I have a 50" plasma that I will probably hook up as a monitor to one of my machines, or cast a chrome tab to, and see how that looks just for kicks.

Perhaps with a mixture of info panels… IE, sections for web cams, news feeds, album art etc.

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I don’t think so.

Alex and I are putting a little extra time into investigating the UK issue from a few angles this week. Announcements will be at Loading...

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@NinjaBread Thanks for the update. I’m waiting for the oAuth issue to be fixed for the UK but its good to know it might work. If you do get a chance to look at it again that would be most appreciated. At least it will give some life to what was a great device (assuming it works of course).

Nicely done, can you share info on the stronger magnets? and did you mount your 3 gang plate to a box with recessed USB connector of some sort behind it? Thanks

Not sure if anyone has already seen or share this - but it seems IKEA have gotten themselves into the wireless charging game - with some new takes on it! I particularly like the idea of a table with a wireless charger built in trickle charging a tablet running smart tiles in a lounge or bedroom - Prices don’t seem too bad imo either. the other reason i wanted to flag is that they are also selling wireless charging enabled back cases for many popular phones for between £10 -£20 - this would make it much easier to mount old phones to walls etc http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/wireless_charging/30611/

I am toying with the idea of using an LG G3 in my hallway as it is a great size compared to a double / quad light switch and already has inductive charging built in. If i am also able to somehow blend android / tasker / smartthings / smart tiles together it would also allow “ok google” style commands from a ‘screen off’ state. The LG g3 also offers double tap to wake which would be nice in this type of usage scenario.

Anyone using 5" phones for in wall control via Smart Tiles?

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You can blend Android + Tasker + SmartThings together using an app I developed called SharpTools. Several people are using SmartTiles as their dashboard and running Tasker + SharpTools behind the scenes for voice control and other automation.

It looks like you’re in the UK based on the currency in your comment, so the OAuth issue will need to be fixed by SmartThings before you can properly use SmartTiles, SharpTools, or any third party OAuth-based app.

I’ve seen a few other cases of people using their phones for SmartTiles, but primarily in portrait orientation. It would be cool to see a clean integration in landscape like with your switch setup.

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SmartTiles is responsive and works ok in Landscape even on small devices. Tiles are mostly all square, so you get perhaps 3 or 4 rows at most; tall tiles (thermostats?) might be an issue.

Thanks @joshua_lyon & @tgauchat . I had seen SharpTools a while back so glad you reminded me! I am very much affected by the OAuth issue :frowning: The day its fixed you’ll likely see some portrait examples :smiley: Hopefully i will have my mounting solution in place ahead of then (as its anyone’s guess at this point how long its going to take :cry: ).

Im hoping to get a phone screen mounted within a white double switch box with the faceplate (or something similar) cut in such a way it covers / frames the screen completely. If i can and ST proves reliable in the interim i will likely replace that quad switch completely as 2 of the switches are already completely autonomous and the other 2 i can replace with tiles on Smart Tiles. Seriously cannot wait to get moving with it when OAuth is fixed. Keep wondering if there is a way i can emulate a SmartTiles environment to at least start layout out and styling my tiles.

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Keep the ideas coming… There is absolutely no way to predict how long it will take for SmartThings to fix the OAuth problem, so @625alex and I are exploring the issue from a few angles to see if anything workable comes up. No promises – just saying that the “love” coming from the UK is very appreciated, and it’s killing us not to be able to deliver SmartTiles to you, so … we can’t sleep! :sleepy:

Thanks @tgauchat! I will be hitting that donate button the day its installed for sure… If there is a way i can emulate an install to at least play around with styling / layout before i have it running properly i’ll be hitting donate even sooner :beers: Really appreciate you even looking for options for us DumbTile’d brits :wink:

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Ok I am super new to ST and SmartTiles. I am entering the above codes (copying and pasting, so no typos) in CUSTOM CSS for changing icons and colors and I am not getting anything to happen when I refresh my SmartTiles URL. What am I doing wrong?

I’ll respond by Private Message and report back with results here.

You probably already know this, but for those just starting to get interested…Dashboard controllers are great (I have two), but the one thing they can’t do is actually control the load on the circuit. So if you replace a wallswitch rather than just add an additional dashboard station you still need a way to power the light on and off. And you have to decide what options you want to have when the internet is out

Some alternatives:

1) If local building codes allow, power the lights directly to be always on and use smart bulbs. This will work fine with the dashboard control as long as the Internet is available.

2) Leave the existing switches as emergency power, cover them with a babyproof switch guard, use smart bulbs and mount the dashboard next to them. This is what we’ve done as it covers all situations for us. If the Internet is down, the switch is immediately available.

3) Replace the existing switches with zwave/ZigBee switch, then add a dashboard as an auxiliary control in a different location in the room. This will work locally through the switch even if the internet is down, but the dashboard won’t work in those cases.

4) Use an inwall zwave relay to control power, leave an emergency wall switch, and put the dashboard anywhere. This is very similar to 3)

So there are multiple options, just wanted to mention that a dashboard doesn’t perform quite the same functions as a wall switch since it doesn’t directly control the circuit, so you may need to think about how you’ll handle that as well if you’re removing an existing wall switch.

In the US there is one weird code requirement in many townships that there must be a toggle switch within 6 feet of the door in Attics. No similar requirement in basements. I still think some building inspector who was afraid of bats got that one put in, but it is on the books in a number of places. :smile:

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I tried it again using a few different browsers and unfortunately the refresh issue persists. The dashboard will load fine and you can interact with the tiles with no issues but after a while the page seems to freeze and a refresh doesn’t always bring it back to a working state. The browser needs to be closed and re-opened to get the dash back which makes it impractical for a wall-mounted solution.

Damn shame, I have two PBs lying around and I hate to see a device unused!