[NO LONGER SUPPORTED] Ask Alexa

Tried again and Alexa still posting Error “There was an Error with the Smart App Execution, if this continues please contact the author of the SmartApp”

OAuth was gone in my IDE Settings for Ask Alexa App , I re-enabled and pasted lines being very careful with spaces etc…

?? stumped!

Ok…let’s go step by step…

Open live logging…when you initiate a command, do you see anything relating to Ask Alexa? If the answer is no, then it is an OAuth, Token ID, or code pasting issue.

I will stop there as that is what it sounds like. Are you on a Mac or PC? I recommend not using your mouse to copy/paste the Lambda code, but instead hit CTL+A, CTL+C then go to a text editor, paste the text in there, then copy/paste it again from the text editor to the AWS site. This will get rid of any encoded characters that sometimes creep into the copy/paste process. I would then follow these steps exactly:

  • Go to Settings on the Smartapp and revoke your token again
  • Go to the About page (main menu, bottom) and click there. Expand the Access Token/ Application ID area…Make sure there are numbers in there
  • Go back to Settings and copy/page the first three lines from Setup Variables to the Lambda code in the proper locations.

You are probably saying, “I have done this…why does he keep saying this”…Unfortunately, the copy/paste process is not as clean as one would expect, so please trust that this will probably get you to the finish line.

If you continue to have issues PM me and we can work real time on this.

I am totally with you on Copy Paste Issues , I think I have that under Control
I did notice that in the updated Lambda Code Line 41 the var url is different that what was in my original Lambda code.
I am assuming that ( and you know what happens when we Assume LOL) that i need to only update the STappID and STtoken is that correct ? or should I have left the old URL ?

sorry my bad , i see you said replace url and I did and Verified still not functioning

You should always use the output of the Setup Variables as that polls you account specifically on the location to go to for the REST API.

I assume while watching Live Logging you see nothing there? Just curious…are you using voice or the developer simulator? Did you happen to create a new Lambda session or reuse the old one? It SOUNDS like you are ok with your ARN number, but we should verify that as well.

Let’s take this to PM to see if we can solve this in case I need to log into your account (only with your permission, of course).

It was my pleasure. I worked on setting up my Git properly today. I never did that previously for whatever reason. Anyway I made a pull request of my repository so my stuff should show up soon.

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Here is your Friday update! I have finished the coding for the next revision of Ask Alexa. It will be a big one, but the upgrade will not require you to set up everything again. Ask Alexa is all about compatibility, which leads off the new features that will be included in this version.

In this version I have changed the internal model of Ask Alexa to allow for extensions…Think of the macros as an extension, along with the newest extension in this release, message queues. While the original version had a single message queue, you now have the ability to set up multiple message queues within your environment. Each person in the house can have a message queue, or as most people will set this up, the queue will represent either an Alexa or ST connected speaker/synth device. With the partner apps Ask Alexa can work with, you can now have directed messages going to specific speakers/rooms. For example, let’s say you want the Nest Manager (@tonesto7) to alert you in the living room, but you want Big Talker (@rayzurbock) to alert you to a door opening when you are in the bedroom, but you want the windows opening to alert you on every speaker in the house. Just set up these message queues and you will be able do just that. I have been working behind the scenes with all of the Ask Alexa partners to ensure not only backward compatibility with their apps, but to support these new features. Please note the Alexa’s can NOT wake up on their own to talk to you; however, you can use the push feature for speakers like Sonos while we all wait for Amazon to release this feature for their speakers.

With these new features I had an opportunity to re-engineer some of the GUI to allow for more logical flow of some of the Settings (that page was getting a bit to big).

Anyway, I will spend the next week beta testing, working on documentation, and working with the partners to have some of them support the new message queues on the release date, which is looking like next week sometime. I will keep you informed!

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Michael,
This sounds like a wonderful “extension” of Ask Alexa!

Your ability to collaborate with other developers and bring in the use of other apps is ingenious!

End users are grateful that you have limited the work required to update as well. While we understand this is not always avoidable, but at least limiting the work / effort to update is an added value.

Very much looking forward to this new release.
Thank you for your dedicated support to make our homes yet smarter again.

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Andrea,

Thanks…to be clear, the extension is part of Ask Alexa…And others extensions (from me and other developers) are being developed. Here is a screenshot of the latest interface for this:

Not sure if that was clear…thanks for your compliments. I try to use best practices from the ‘real world’ on this development!

Awesome! Here’s hoping Amazon will release push voice messages soon…

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I am running into issues getting Ask Alexa installed.

I have the application installed via GitHub and configured in my Smart Things App. I also created my AWS account and got the Lambda portion completed. I was able to created by Alexa development account and am at the portion of adding a new Alexa skill. Under the Interactions model tab I have all the code entered as well as the custom slot types, however when I click next or save I get Please wait while this skill is updated. My first time I let it sit for about 1.5 hours. I have attempted it a second time and am getting the same message.

Anyone seen this error?

Yes…And it is not you…it is Amazon…They sometimes have big delays in saving. There are some things you can do. First, if you are using IE, switch to Chrome (if you have it) or any other browser. That sometimes works. If you have browser with ‘privacy mode’ use that to access the site, or simply clear the cache and cookies on the browser you are using. Also, to be clear, are you saving the slots, or the whole page? Sometimes it is a good idea to paste the intents, create the slots, and then copy the utterances and then press Save at the very end.

Again, you should get good results if you change up browsers or clear you cache/cookies.

Let me know if that helps. I am not having any issues right now with it, but that doesn’t mean it is load balanced in another area and the server you are on is having issues.

Often times closing all browser windows and then reopening seems to work.

Using Chrome and saving in interviews worked. Thanks for all the help.

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Perfect…good work! I look forward to your feedback!

Can ask alexa be set up to accept follow up commands like echosistant? I have run into times where I would like to turn off multiple devices without having to repeat the wake word over and over. this becomes more of an issue as I continue to add new smart devices.

Yes you can set it up for follow up commands. Under settings —> personalization. Then it will be under continuation of commands

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As the post above outlines, Ask Alexa has always had the follow up feature…And you have the option of some of the commands having follow ups and some not. This really allows you to personalize your interaction.

In addition, if you find you are always doing the same sequence of commands Ask Alexa allows you to set up macros that do all kinds of things with one command. I have my good night macro turn off 20 lights give me a weather report and lock the doors all with ‘good night’.

Let me know if you get this working.

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Custom Colors question - I want to add a custom color called ‘day light’ to the color options in Ask Alexa. I want the color name to be daylight and it is white with the maximum K rating. (When you slide the slider all the way to the right in the smartthings app.) Someone has mentioned you can do this in Ask Alexa, are there any instructions out there on how to do this?

Thanks!

Are you using actual colored lights (i.e RGB style) or just the while lights that take a Kelvin Setting? Either way, the words “DayLight White” is already defined via the SmartThings API. If you are using colored bulbs, it is a hue of 191 and a saturation of 9. If you are using a white light, it is 6700k. Either way, you can’t use the word “daylight” since it is already part of the app.

It SOUNDS like you are using a Kelvin light, in which case you can go into “Switches/Dimmers/Colored Lights” and you can “Choose Temperature(Kelvin) Lights”. Put the lights in there and then you can use the following pre-set commands “Soft White”, “Warm White”, “Cool White” and “Daylight White” (2700K, 3500K, 4500K and 6700K degrees Kelvin, respectfully)

There is no ‘custom’ color for Kelvin lights, but if you let me know your needs we can discuss putting something into the next version.

Let me know if that helps.