[ST Edge] vEdge Creator: a virtual device generator for end users

[h0ckeysk8er (Bruce Pinsky)]

@HalD

Other than a screenshot of things included in a Scene, is there any way to get a list of actions for them?

I manually replaced my vEdge switches with Lights to get the coupling of switch and dimmer. In the process I forgot a couple of scenes where they had been included. Very minor annoyance, certainly. But looking for help in case I throw in the towel and manually migrate my last dozen devices from DTH to Edge.

I don’t believe so.

I have a virtual device that I as to Routines and/or Scenes before I convert a device as a placeholder for the device I’m converting.

[TAustin]

@HalD

to get the coupling of switch and dimmer

Just FYI, in one of my last updates to the driver, there was an option added to the virtual dimmer switch device to link the dimmer and switch to act like a traditional light dimmer. I also added a separate dimmer-only device for anyone not needing the switch.

[HalD (Hal)]

@TAustin

there was an option added to the virtual dimmer switch device to link the dimmer and switch

I looked for that but didn’t see it. Perhaps not on the most recent version. In any case, I’ve converted all to Lights and am happy.

My use case is having the virtuals be the “master” for several real devices via the Sync capability of Smart lighting.

We mostly use Alexa voice commands so I wanted consistency between, for example, the “Kitchen Ceiling” virtual and any of the three physical smart dimmers.

With the physical smart dimmers, saying “Alexa kitchen sink 100%” turns on and sets the level while “Alexa kitchen sink on” turns on at last used level.

Without the switch/dimmer coupling saying “Alexa Kitchen Ceiling 100%” seems to do nothing since it sets the level but does not switch the virtual on and hence none of the synced physical devices switch on.

[Jake_Mohl]

@TAustin this is a bit of an odd request but, I was wondering if this would even be possible.

Could a text field custom capability be added to the presence sensor?

I asked this because it would be handy if you could set the text field with the current location of the present sensor. Home, work, gym, etc…

[TAustin]

@fruelas

virtual vacuum device

There are three robot cleaner capabilities defined in the ‘proposed’ category of SmartThings capabilities (see this link):

• robotCleanerCleaningMode
• robotCleanerMovement
• robotCleanerTurboMode

Since they are in ‘proposed’ category, I’m not certain they are actually operational, since I have not used them.

Can you be more specific which capabilities, attributes, commands you are looking for?

[TAustin]

@HalD

I looked for that but didn’t see it

You may need to create a new virtual level device to see the new option. Or your creator device may need updating (delete and rediscover).

[TAustin]

@Jake_Mohl

text field custom capability be added to the presence sensor

Interesting idea. How would you set the text value, through an automation?

[Nezmo]

@TAustin

• robotCleanerCleaningMode
• robotCleanerMovement

I know for sure these are active.

[fruelas (Fernando Ruelas)]

I agree with Nezmo, those 2 capabilities would be good as well as an ON/OFF toggle (that one should trigger ‘auto’ mode i guess).
In my case I have 2 old ecovacs vacuums with wifi, I use the a few virtual switches that trigger the WebRequestor driver to send some GETs to my docker containers (running in a rpi4), each container sends a different command to the vacuums depending on the switch that triggered the automation, is pretty niche use case but I’d love to have a virtual robot vacuum device in ST instead of switches, probably I’m being too picky with he UI.

[rbendell (Ron Bendell)]

I’ve installed the creator. I’ve created a Virtual Switch, which is located in Home tab. How do I link devices to the new switch? Thank you

[Bry (Bryan)]

@rbendell

How do I link devices to the new switch?

You can do that with a Routine or maybe SmartLighting.

[Jake_Mohl]

Yes or through a API call. My personal use case would be to intercept life360 notifications of when family arrives at locations. The using the API push the name to the text field.

[RebelMagpie (Mike Parker)]

Hi @TAustin, thank you for all your work.

I have a Tuya soil sensor that I have connected to Smartthings using @w35l3y’s fantastic EF00 driver. It works fine, but connects as a thermometer, and as such, shows the temperature on the dashboard when I want to see the moisture level (humidity).

I have created a virtual Temp/Humidity device using your vEdge Creator, configured the settings so that I can see the moisture on the dashboard, and created a SharpTools routine to copy the physical attributes to the virtual device.

So far, so good.

The one important piece of info I am missing is the battery level. Is there any way you could add a battery level gauge to your Temp/Humidity vDevice?

Thank you again for your assistance to the community.

[joshua_lyon (Josh, SharpTools.io Dashboard)]

I might be missing some nuance here, but if you able to access the humidity and temperature from the source device in a SharpTools rule, shouldn’t you be able to access those same attributes directly on a dashboard?

For example, you could use a Hero Attribute Tile to display the attributes on a SharpTools dashboard:

Change tile layout: custom attributes and alternative layouts - SharpTools...

[RebelMagpie (Mike Parker)]

Yes, but I’m talking about how it displays in Smartthings, not SharpTools. I can access all the attributes of the device for my automations, but I want to see at a glance the moisture/humidity level - in the Devices tab of Smartthings.

I can do that with the device created with the vEdge creator, but it lacks the battery level when I go into the detail. I’d like to be able to monitor that within the device. Without it, I can’t fully replace the physical device tile.

[TAustin]

@RebelMagpie

add a battery level gauge to your Temp/Humidity vDevice

It’s a pretty niche requirement, but I’ll consider making it a Settings option in my next update, since most people wouldn’t want it.

[RebelMagpie (Mike Parker)]

Thanks Todd. I appreciate anything you can do to help.

Is seeing the battery level really a niche requirement?

[TAustin]

We can see if anyone else comments, but you’re the first to mention wanting it. It certainly would depend on the device you are dealing with. Temp & humidity values can be coming from any number of sources, many of which may not have a battery.

[Paul_Oliver (PCO)]

I have no great need for battery, but I would probably use it in some cases.

I would only want battery added if the display could be turned on and off in the settings section.

[TAustin]

DRIVER UPDATE NOTICE!!

The vEdge Creator driver has been updated and pushed out to your hubs. You can confirm you have the update by checking the Driver version, which should be 2023-03-17T01:29:07.547631833.

Summary of changes:

• Added a new Momentary button-ONLY device type: this will exclude the switch and contact fields that are included in the, what I now call, the Momentary button combo device.

• Added a location (text) field to the Presence device, which can be set through automations. (@Jake_Mohl)

• Added a new Robot Cleaner device type, which includes some limited automations of controls (@fruelas)

• Added an optional battery and batterylevel-set field to the Temperature/Humidity device. This is enabled/disabled in device Settings; default is disabled. Be aware that making this device profile change may take some time to be reflected in the app and/or the device may be temporarily unresponsive. (@RebelMagpie, @Paul_Oliver)

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The newly added devices (Momentary-only and Robot) should be listed in the ‘Select & Create Virtual Device(s)’ button in the Creator device. The new options may take some time to appear, even after your hub receives the driver update.

If the Creator device fields are grayed-out or the whole device is unresponsive, wait up to 4 hours to see if they return to active. If not, delete the Creator device and re-create with an Add device / Scan for nearby devices. You can do this safely without affecting your existing virtual devices. The new Creator device will be labeled “vEdge Creator V2.91”.