Feature Request: RM5.1 Time Since Event exceeds %some_variable%

jmason888 · March 28, 2022, 9:02pm

Would it be possible for the Time Since Event to be compared to a variable in addition to the explicit hours:minutes:seconds already provided? It doesn't look the %some-variable% syntax works anymore in (most places), since RM5.1 provides the (much cleaner) drop-down for choosing variables everywhere except text fields. (But that option does not seem to exist for the Time Since Event condition.)

On a much smaller note, the only comparison "option" is "exceeds". For completeness, "does not exceed" might be nice, although that can be worked around with more complicated conditional/rule logic.

My apologies for making so many posts on the new RM5.1 features—I've been experimenting with them to see what they are capable of, and sometimes poking into corner cases. @bravenel don't get me wrong: I'm really liking the Sticky Triggers and Time Since Event in RM 5.1—for me these are the biggest improvements in RM since the big upgrade from RM4 to RM5.

bravenel · March 28, 2022, 9:12pm

I'll think about it, although it's a bit problematic just from a user understanding perspective. It asks for hours:minutes:seconds. But ultimately, that's not a time, it's a duration of time, i.e., a number. So with a variable, a number of what? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? It's a mess, IMO.

Meanwhile, Time Since Event is a condition, and all conditions allow one to specify NOT this Condition. So Time Since Event less than x is simply NOT Time Since Event exceeds x.

jmason888 · March 28, 2022, 9:33pm

Could the variable be in seconds, and the interface for this condition type look something like the interface for delayed actions? Those are also time durations:

hydro311 · August 27, 2023, 6:10pm

Man, I never would've thought to try this, but it works like a champ! Thanks for this nugget, Bruce - it's really helping me out with one of my rules here.