How to use the new widget functionality?

Apps & Clients
1

I see the latest Android update claims to have widget support for setting triggering Hello Home actions, yay!
However…I can’t figure out how to actually use the functionality. I don’t see a ST widget anywhere in the widget list, and I don’t see a way to create/assign an action to a widget from within the app itself, so…?

Anyone get this to work?

2

If you just updated your app, reboot your phone. When an android app adds widget functionality that hasn’t had it in the past, it doesn’t show up until after a reboot

3

Are you using the stock homescreen launcher or a third-party tool (like Nova, Aviate, Themer)? The widget shows up as “SmartThings” in the widget list, and after you configure it by selecting a location, a scrollable list of Hello Home phrases/actions will be displayed.

Pasted image1080×1920 542 KB
Pasted image1080×1920 861 KB

If you are looking for additional widgets, I developed an app called SharpTools which provides Widgets and Tasker integration. SharpTools widgets currently support Hello Home phrases/actions as well as widgets to control your individual things - toggle a light, set the dim level, control your Sonos, etc. With the Tasker integration, the possibilities are limitless and users of that app have come up with some pretty cool solutions like mini-dashboards and widgets that change based on their location or context. (Examples)


Pasted image576×1024 292 KB
Pasted image623×1024 56.4 KB

1 Like
4

I’m waiting for the iOS version with widget to get approved… :confused:

5

Weird, I had to reboot a couple times to get it to show in the widget list.
I’m set now (for the widget anyway).
Thanks!

6

I realize this is an old topic, but I just discovered it (new ST user)… I’m not sure why the ST app doesn’t support the widget functionality for “things”, but this app solved my need! Its nice to be able to open the garage door from my home screen at a distance, as my standard opener only works if I am stopped in front of the garage. I will be paying to keep this feature when the 7 day trial expires.

Any chance the toggles will support status indicators any time soon? ST is set up to notify if the garage door is open, but it might be nice to see this in the widget as well… maybe this is where the tasker add-on comes in, but it would be nice to have it as a widget setting.

EDIT… amazing what you find with some searching,… i just found a couple of your tutorialsl on how to accomplish exactly what I was after:


.
.

Thanks again for a great product / tool!

1 Like
7

Thanks for the post and I’m glad you are enjoying SharpTools! In addition to the Tasker approach which lets you build a custom widget solution, note that SharpTools also natively supports widgets that display state.

When selecting from the list of Widgets there is a blue widget and a yellow/gray widget. The blue widget is technically a shortcut and has some benefits like the ability to group Shortcuts into folders. The gray/yellow widget is a traditional widget which displays state - this is probably what you are looking for.

Screenshot_20161026-135133.png1440×787 160 KB

1 Like
8

I’ve been playing with the widget you mentioned, and it works great to show state, but it only seems to work to either open or close the door depending on which I select during setup. I am using a linear / gocontrol garage door controller. It would be nice to have an option to send a close command if state is open, etc.

It would also be nice to have a color picker / icon picker for the widget…

…not a big deal, as both can be solved with the tasker integration.

Thanks again!

9

Are you using the stock device type handler or a community device type handler? If the DTH implements the switch capability, SharpTools automatically implements a virtual toggle method which does what you indicated - it will send the on/open command if the door is off/closed. Alternatively, some device type handlers implement a push or toggle feature natively – if your DTH does this, the command should be available within SharpTools as well.

If you want to send me your list of Things, I can look at it in more detail. From the SharpTools Settings screen, open the overflow menu and select Send Things.

I started work on this and have the core functionality in place buy it still needs some work. I’ve prioritized shipping a few other improvements like Tasker variable mode for Routines and Modes as well as a significant overhaul of the push event system, but I expect to get back to feature enhancements like this soon!

10

And if you want to tinker with your device type directly, you could add a method like to following to your DTH:

def toggle(device){
    if(device.currentValue("door") == "closed")
        device.open();
    else
        device.close();
}

Depending on how strictly your DTH follows the capabilities reference, you may want to account for other states too (eg. opening and closing):
http://docs.smartthings.com/en/latest/capabilities-reference.html#garage-door-control

1 Like