Put a virtual button on a dashboard not working?

Why Hubitat Elevation
1

I am sorta a noob. I resisted changing all of my devices over from Wink, but last week changed all of that.

I added a virtual button called door lock. My goal was to put it on the page with other door locks. But press the button locked the door, and also flashed the lights on both sides of the door.
Hold the button would unlock it, plus turn on the light inside at a set level and flash the outside lite.
As we pull up in the car, hit the unlock mode, see the light flash to know it worked, and have the door unlocked when we get there.
The Event log for the virtual button does not show pressed or held.
The only way I can see an event, if to open the device, enter a value for example for push, and select push. then it registers as an event.

What am I missing, or what is an alternate way?
I would like to set a buttons for other things as well.

2

It has been a long week already for me, but I don't quite understand what you are saying about how you tied the virtual button to actual devices like the lights and door. Did you create a rule in Rule Machine, for example?

And when it does work, you are using the virtual button? That also isn't clear, to me at least.

Edit:
Maybe a screen shot of your device in question would also help at some point. You won't be able to post for a bit, the board makes you post for a while before allowing pictures to be attached.

3

At first I created a rule for this, if the virtual button was pressed, then flash lights and lock door, and if "held" then flash lights, unlock door, and turn dining room light on at 30%.
Then I tried installing button controller 3.0, and did the same in that app.

I added the button to the dashboard, using button template, and connected to the virtual button.
But when I PRESS or HOLD the dashboard item, apparently it does not register an event. Or, when I go devices and look up event, the dashboard press does not show up.

BTW, I did have success with a virtual dimmer, that I could control from Alexa, and then used a string of conditional actions to operate the Hampton Bay Ceiling fan. That worked well, or I learned a lot from that experience.:slight_smile:

4

There is no "Hold" function on a dashboard. So that is one thing you will have to think about doing differently.

The next thing I think is happening, how will the virtual button reset? If you click it once, it will be on, and you would have to click twice to get it back on. (off then back on again). Maybe a toggle would be better than a button?

I would have to think about how to do this for a bit, but my brain isn't up to it at the moment. Hopefully someone else can add something in the meantime.

1 Like
5

I see four states for a virtual button.
Double tap, hold, push, release.
I tied my rules to push and hold.
The rule engine recognizes 'held" instead of "hold"

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6

let me add code to reset the state, and see if that works?
I sill do not see events in the log.

7

potatoes tomatoes it's the same action past or present.

Couldn't you do this with a Virtual Lock? Then in RM configures what happens when the VL is 'lock/unlocked'.

I'm no RM guru but here is my stab at it.

Virtual lock 'changes'

If VL is unlocked then 
    unlock real lock 
   turn inside light on X% 
   flash acknowledgment light 
Else-if VL in locked then 
  Lock real lock 
  Flash light side 1, side 2 
End-If

EDIT: Bonus you get a Lock icon by default on the dash!

1 Like
8

that works