Gotcha. I've never developed android apps but was hoping that layout/style was handled similarly to html/css, with a separate layer controlling the appearance.
Just an idea - Perhaps you could make a separate .ini like file (sorry, I have a Windows background - a standardized config file in txt format with variable names and definitions) with a list of variables so you could allow users to fine tune customizations without cluttering up your clean, simple android app with too many options. This could be loaded from an external source, much like a CSS, so it could be updated and changed with a separate device instead of tapping onto a small screen. (Forgive me if this is a dumb idea, as I said, I'm not an android developer!)
Here is my wish list 1.0
ability to remove all drop shadows on text (ugh, sorry I hate them they are the worst)
ability to change font color, font style
ability to change font size of the tile content (e.g. the word "Day" in a mode tile) not just the caption
a monochrome theme - start with the simplest and blandest of palates that tile colors etc can be added on top of
control over tile padding (this is my #1 request actually, seriously). Currently what is called padding I would argue is intertile spacing, not intratile padding. I'm going to use a massive android touchscreen for a large console, so I'd prefer tiles that are clean/crisp/uncluttered over information overload. More padding would help here to keep it super clean looking.
the ability to remove the background (watermark like) icon. Maybe that is an option with the current icon settings, but I can't seem to get it to work. Again, I want to unclutter the interface as much as possible.
ability to remove the horizontal rule / line on folder tiles (again, just clutter IMHO)
ability to assign empty strings to titles. For example, I added a tile for the Calculator app. The icon is self evident what it is, I don't need "Calculator" above it. But I am forced to give it a name, so I used "." but that is not ideal
Less important but would be cool:
Ability to add background images specific to a folder. With my large panel, I'm considering arranging and grouping tiles (switches for lights, fans, etc) as they correspond to rooms in my house. Could be cool to super impose the tiles on top of a blueprint of the floor layout (but maybe only cool in my head)
As you can tell, I want extremely clean, minimalist, lots of padding/empty space.
As this VERY excellent app continues to mature, I would love to have more granular control over the aesthetics and presentation, especially since you have completely nailed the backend and functionality.
Happy to spitball more ideas, but also don't want to be annoying!
To illustrate my point about tile padding, here is an example of tiles in the Win10 start menu. Center icons are surrounded by a healthy amount of padding.
Not that I am trying to exactly emulate Windows here, but I would love to be able to make similarly proportioned tiles with hubitat dashboard
I could do that - I already expose all possible options in a .txt file when you save the dashboard config. I did that because I figured it might be nice for someone to see what could be changed.
I do like to expose everything in the UI if possible.. just need to get the more advanced stuff out of the way so it doesn't clutter up the interface and make seem overly complex.. that's a battle I'm always fighting!!
Anyway, thanks for the list of suggestions.. I can't promise I'll get to them all but certainly can try to work on it as time allows. I have a TODO list which I can add these to so they're not lost in this LONG thread never to be found again
@jpage4500 I love how simple this app is to use.
I need your app/ developer knowledge
I have a Asus tablet that can't be upgraded past jellybean 4.1.1
Not even able to root the device anymore. Amazing Tab, just outdated!
I have very limited knowledge of app builds, but I wondered if there was a way to get this app on the tablet. I have your APK on the device but it has a parsing issue
I had to lookup JellyBean 4.1.1 and it's Android 16. The app currently has a minimum API level of 18. I remember researching this a while ago when supporting my Wink Relay and it came down to a few libraries I'm using and the minimum API level they have. Replacing some libraries might be possible but not super easy.
Just curious. I've been running a C5 Hub and your APP on a old Samsung Tablet for a long time. It's been working great but I "migrated" to a C7 hub yesterday using Hub Protect and while my Dashboard is working, it "lags". Meaning, if I ARM my system, it does not show the change on the Dashboard until I manually "refresh" through your menu. I did change the "refresh rate" to 5 min but wondered if I needed to refresh something in the Maker API on the hub as well. Thanks!
That demo app comes from the library I'm using. I don't remember - does the demo app have a default port set? Or, what port did you enter? I am looking at the source for the demo app and comparing with my app and they look pretty much the same.. I am defaulting the port to 554 if not specified in the URL
I'll test it out.. HSM and Modes work a little differently than the typical devices. With any device, if they change state (on -> off) there's an event that's generated which the app detects and updates the UI. I believe HSM/Mode changes also generate events like armed/disarmed/etc but it's harder to link the events to HSM as I remember (normal events include a device 'ID' which is how I know what the update is for)
I've created a new token in Maker API and updated all devices that are using it and that seems to have improved it. FYI, I had changed the IP on the new Hub to what the C5 had been so this may have confused things. I'll let you know if it's still a problem in a day or two. Thanks!
No, the app is not asking for a port and I'm not providing it in the app or in VLC. I tried specifying port 554 in the dashboard's Video tile. No change. The tile says "Connecting", then "Read timed out". I know I can use my TinyCamPro server and pick the stream that way, but I was hoping for a raw RTSP from the cam...
That was for me with my Wink Relays running Android 4.3. The app has been working great for a while, but after an update 5-6 months ago, something has changed and it started crashing both of my Wink Relays. I had to stop using the app - just using the Hubitat Dashboard made especially for the small screen of the Relay. Time to move on I guess ¯_(ツ)_/¯
It's working on my Wink Relay but I can't say I use it too often.. I had a previous Wink Relay that went bad and eventually died. I read that a lot of Relays have had touchscreen issues so I'm mostly leaving this device alone hoping it might last. If the app is crashing I wonder if it's due to a device/type I don't have or something taking up a lot of memory like video or image tiles. These devices aren't well suited for anything memory intensive like that
Both of my Winks have developed a "memory" issue. No matter what I do, settings I change, apps add or remove, after restart everything goes back to the way it was when it booted last. It's a "Groundhog Day" thing. Pretty common, from what I've read. At that point, the only thing that makes the device useful are the 2 smart buttons and a screen, where it points to a page (Hubitat dashboard) that I can change if I have to.
I don't recall the version number of this app installed on the Relay, but it crashes the Relay immediately. I tried uninstalling this app, but after the restart, everything returns to the previous condition.
You probably won't believe this, but the "microscopic" setting for tile size ain't small enough.
I picked up one of these bad boys from ebay this week. 22" Android touchscreen tablet/computer/digital signage | eBay
They run android 4.4.4 and only $175 for 22 inch touchscreen.
I just unboxed, but first impressions have been VERY good. It is snappy, responsive, decent screen. There are a ton of ports in the back. Boot time is super quick, these were designed for kiosk use.
Hubitat Dashboard runs great. However, because the tablet is sooo freaking enormous, the tiles can't scale down small enough. The are like 1x1"
You might ask where I'm planning to put a 22" hubitat dashboard - its most definitely behind a cabinet door. Like a storage area / command center.
Also, side note - forgive me if a feature i wasn't aware of - is there a setting to allow periodic turn off or shifting of tiles to prevent screen burn in?
wow.. well that's the largest screen i've heard used to-date. I can easily support more sizes.. coming up with names smaller than "microscopic" will be fun though
side-note -- ultimately this just figures out how many tiles (columns) to be displayed in a single row. I tried to be smart about it though because more tiles fit on a screen when it's in landscape orientation than in portrait. If I just used columns and you selected 6 - that might work in landscape but be WAY too small in portrait.. and I wanted the app to use relative sizes instead.
