ActionTiles Support & Ideas Forum
Public Forum for ActionTiles Customers. Please use the Search Box and carefully browse the results to look for existing relevant Topics before opening a new Topic or Private Helpdesk Ticket.
ActionTiles release 6.11.0
ActionTiles release 6.11.0 has been rolled out on March 28, 2020.
New Features:
Window Shade Tile
New Tile type is available for devices that confirm to the official Window Shade Capability. This new tile works great with Ikea FYRTUR Blackout roller blinds.
Auto Reload App
Automatically reload the application after a period of inactivity. This is helpful when you wish to refresh Media Tiles or Video Streams if they become unstable over time.
This option is set per each display device, available under App Setting.
Updates:
Toast Notifications
Confirmation notifications for Tile Actions are removed. Only error notifications will be shown.
This change was reverted due to user demand.
Major infrastructure updates
ActionTiles continues to invest in infrastructure maintenance to insure performant and secure operation of app. The back end changes for this release are mostly transparent to the end users. If you are experiencing any issues, please contact support@actiontiles.com for most timely assistance.
Thank you for enjoying ActionTiles!
March 2021 Scene Intagration and breaking changes
ActionTiles released a native integration with SmartThings Scenes in September 2020. However, the SmartThings API was not ready for production and therefore this feature was rolled back soon after. Only a small set of users were able to install it and even fewer still use it today.
The Scene integration has been redone using a different authentication method and will be available to all users in the coming days.
The existing Scene Tiles will no longer function after March 17, 2021. You will be able to replace them with the new version of Scene Tiles alter this week. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We believe this is the best way to move forward and allow all users to use this feature.
Thanks
Alex
RELEASE v6.10.0: Enhanced Theme Builder: backgrounds, transparency, gradients! + Minor touches / fixes
Major Release
Deployed August 15, 2019 - 1000h Pacific Time
Make your Panels prettier using the enhanced Theme Builder!
Visit the My Themes page to Build (+) a new Theme from scratch or a copy of an existing Theme; or to come back and edit your Themes.
Changes (may be updated):
- Theme Builder:
- Color Picker now is a an RGB color wheel with hue and transparency/opacity adjustment.
- Transparency / Opacity for Tile backgrounds and content.
- Gradients for Panel background and Tile background.
- Blur and Opacity options for Panel background image (wallpaper) and Tile background images.
- Background (wallpaper) images. Choose from a selection of included stock images or use a URL to an image (such as from a wallpaper or photo gallery site).
- Tile background image.
- Tile border color and width.
- Panel and Tile backgrounds have 3 layers: color, image and gradient.
Each layer is configured independently and each preference is optional. - Panel color (optional), defaults to black.
- Panel background image (optional) can be selected from the provided gallery of stock images, loaded from URL or custom CSS property. This layer has preferences for image blur filter and opacity.
- Panel gradient (optional) is applied on top of background image. It can be a selected from one of the preset values or loaded from a custom CSS property.
- Tile backgrounds work the same way as Panel backgrounds.
- New per Tile Styles (in Panel Builder / Tile Settings for each Tile):
- Icon Animations: breathe, blink, bounce, nudge, pulse, shake, spin, spin fast, vibrate.
- Icon Effects: glow, fade (fade is the default for the Normal Intention in all Themes).
- Clock Tile: Option to hide AM/PM indicator.
- Media Tile implementation change. Should help if media streams are unstable or freeze when zooming.
- PIN Code can be entered using keyboard keys.
- Smart Home Monitor (Classic) and Garage Door Tile: Added the option to select custom icons and Tile Intents.
- Some Thermostat Tile changes (more coming).
- Consolidated Panel Preferences and Tile Preferences pages.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Over time, we will post "Tips" in our Knowledge Base, Forum, and Social Media.
Enjoy!
...Terry & Alex.
Ooo... I forgot to link this new Gallery Topic!
Yes - Please share your Panel designs & Themes to the post linked below:
ActionTiles Release 6.11.3
ActionTiles release 6.11.0 has been rolled out on June 10, 2020.
New Features
Color Temperature control.
Color Temperature slider will appear in Glass Dialog lights that support this capability. (RGB color light indicator has been removed from tiles, because it was too small to be really useful.)
IFrame Tiles.
The new IFrame Tiles allow you to embed another website into ActionTiles.
Please note that the website for IFrame must be served over HTTPS, otherwise it will not work with ActionTiles.
Your mileage may vary. Not every website is compatible with IFrame.
If you come up with interesting use case, please share with the community!
Some ideas for useful sites that can be used as Tiles:
https://support.actiontiles.com/communities/12/topics/9116-iframe-tiles-working-sites
SmartApp update.
Ability to select some newer models of garage door controllers, thermostats and window shades.
Updated wording.
Performance optimizations.
Changed event processing server, then rolled back.
Updates
Routines and Classic Smart Home Monitor are deprecated for new users.
SmartThings is pushing to deprecate some features of Classic app and ActionTiles is following suite. New users are often confused between Classic SHM and the new SmartThings Home Monitor. Routines and SHM options will not appear for user accounts created after June 1st.
If you know what you are doing and you need to be able to add routine and SHM Tiles, please contact support to turn on this option for you.
Options for bigger clock sizes.
Infrastructure upgrades.
Major changes to consolidate servers and optimize for cost and performance.
RELEASE v6.9.4: Minor Release - Performance upgrades, Location License management, Streamlined navigation
It's been a while since we made any changes to the application. We have been working on infrastructure upgrades to lay foundation for future services and integrations.
Release notes:
- My Licenses page: View Location Licenses and transfer them between locations.
- My Locations page: added option to remove locations.
- Side Navigation menu is simplified.
- Faster transitions between panels.
- Performance improvements, including PIN input.
- Unicode (foreign characters) are properly handled in more places.
Thanks for your continued support and endorsement of ActionTiles!
...Alex & Terry
RELEASE v6.9.3: Minor Release - Bug fixes & Enhancements
Minor release:
Bug fixes:
- Blank tile on the last row causes scroll bars to appear.
- Added ability to add Panel Shortcut tile to its own panel (for consistent layouts).
- Battery icon too big on some Tiles (lock, etc.).
Enhancements:
- Lock Tile supports new lock state "unlocked with timeout".
- Minor AT Android app related enhancements.
- Added "frosted glass" (blur) effect to Glass Dialogs.
Thanks for your continued support and endorsement of ActionTiles!
...Alex & Terry.
RELEASE v6.9.2: Big Glass UI replaces slide-up drawers for PIN, Dimmer, Light Color, Routines, SHM, etc.
Minor Release:
- Feature: For Tiles with extra controls (like PIN Protected, Dimmers, Color, SHM, Routines, and Modes), the control "slide-up drawers UI" has been replaced with a big pop-up full-screen "Glass UI".
To dismiss any Big Glass Pop-Up, tap the "X".
On wide screens, you can dismiss with the swipe-away gesture: UP or DOWN in the margins of the screen (i.e., you can only swipe-away on the left or right area outside the space occupied by the controls - this means that swipe-away is not possible on narrow screens - use the "X" instead. - Note: In this Release the old PIN Code implementation is unchanged for Valve, Momentary, and Image Capture Tiles. The design of these Tiles will be updated soon to match the others.
- Thermostat overflow options are not yet using this new Glass UI.
- Bug Fixed: Color bulb indicator on Switch Tiles for HSV lights should now indicate the correct color.
Enjoy!
Please contact Support@ActionTiles.com if you encounter issues. Thank-you.
RELEASE v6.9.1: Minor Release of Features and Fixes
Minor Release:
- Feature: Panel Builder: Show actual selected custom Icons (for the default Device State only) in the Tile list:
- Feature: Location Viewer enhanced to show the actual values (by device) that are returned by ST (instead of having to login to SmartThings IDE / My Devices / Device Detail). Very helpful for Support troubleshooting.
- Diagnostic Info: Show ActionTiles's internal Account ID on My Account Page. Useful to share with Support.
- Bug Fixed: Thermostat Tile or its icons were sometimes fading to grey if any twin Tiles were present on Panel.
Enjoy!
Please contact Support@ActionTiles.com if you encounter issues. Thank-you.
RELEASE v6.9.0: Icon Library (3000), plus minor features and fixes
Major Release
You asked for icons and this Release has icons... over 3000 icons!
Visit the Icon Library to browse icon selection. Accessible via Left Side Menu.
Any icon from the library can be applied to any Tile of any these Tiles Types
(NB: Tile Intentions selections are now also available for all of these Tile Types):
- Acceleration Sensor
- Carbon Monoxide Detector
- Contact Sensor
- Image Capture
- Lock
- Momentary (button)
- Motion Sensor
- Panel Shortcut
- Presence Sensor
- Routine
- Routines
- Shortcut (hyperlink)
- Smoke Detector
- Switch
- Valve
- Water Sensor
Changes
- Most Toast notifications may now be turned off (see App Settings).
- PIN Protection option added to Valve.
- Rather than displaying question mark, Tiles will display the received value if available.
- Other various performance improvements and bug fixes throughout the app.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
...Terry & Alex.
RELEASE v6.8.0: Theme Builder (color selector), plus minor features, fixes, tuning
Major Release!
Big exciting Feature! Custom Theme Builder (i.e., custom color selection per Panel and per Tile Intention - not "per Thing" or "per Tile" or "per Tileset"). Includes the ability to copy the built-in ActionTiles Themes or your own existing Themes as a starting point, export and import Themes as a JSON clip in plain-text (or a downloaded .json file) for sharing with fellow Customers.
A Theme is of a set of colors for the Panel background, Tileset Titles, and the elements of Tiles for each of the 4 Tile Intentions. Themes may contain more properties in future versions.
Changes
- Custom Theme Builder.
- Capability "Voltage Measurement" added. Full list of compatible SmartThings Capabilities here.
- Carbon Monoxide, Smoke Detector: treat "tested" state the same as "clear".
- PIN Code Pad appearance, Input (Tap) progress indicator, and improved performance.
- Inter-panel fade animation changed to black (no white flash when using Panel Shortcut Tiles).
- Other various performance improvements and bug fixes throughout the app.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Let us know what you think of Custom Theme Building and the other features and tweaks in this Release.
Thank-you from your ActionTiles team...
...Terry & Alex.
RELEASE v6.7.6: Bug Fixes & Internal optimizations
Release is slim on new Features; We are fixes some small bugs and refactoring code for optimization and foundation.
Minor Release:
- This Release contains a lot of invisible internal optimizations and preparations for more, as well as continuing foundation building for planned Features.
- Please let us know if you experience new issues, and bear with us as this is a critical evolutionary step for ActionTiles.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Thank-you!!!
...Terry & Alex
RELEASE v6.7.5: Icons, Nest Cam™ camera streaming, & minor bug fixes
Minor Release:
- Loads and Loads of new Icons: Please explore the Tile Settings of your various Tile types to see what new icons you can select!
- SmartThings Capabilities added: Sound Pressure Level and Ultraviolet Index.
- Nest Cam™ Cameras (public, no password only) can be added as Media / Media Tiles. Please see Knowledge Base! This is an "experimental" feature.
- (Bug fixes will be noted on their relevant Topics.)
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Thank-you!!!
...Terry & Alex
RELEASE v6.7.4: Seasonal festive Icons, Performance improvements, UI Tweaks and Bug Fixes
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Festive changes...
- More icons for Switches (lamps, seasonal, festive, holiday: Christmas, Menorah ... 🎄, 🌠, 🕎), Presence (vehicles).
Primary changes...
- Switch Tile: Show color picker when (Hue + Saturation) or (Color) Attribute is available.
- Fix battery indicator preference settings missing for some Tile types.
- Fix for 2x2 thermostat tile.
- Tile Options dialog GUI improvements.
- Shortcut options: open in new window/same window/dialog.
- Arrange Tiles mode automatically saves changes after every move.
- This was the original behavior but had severe performance issues. Those have been resolved. Please test creating a new Panel and do lots of rearranging. Have fun observing the instantaneous updates to the live Panel viewed in a separate browser or on a Tablet sitting next to your PC...
- Added more button Tool Tips. Visible on mouse hover or by long-press.
- Prevent flash of false empty state indicator.
Further notes will be added here if we make incremental improvements. Significant issues reported in Comments may be spun off into new Bug, Usability, or Feature Request Topics.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
All the best of the season to you and yours...
...Terry & Alex.
RELEASE v6.7.2: Major style-engine changes as foundation for more customizability. Many polishes and improvments!
Major release!
This is a big one, folks...
As you know, the ability to customize Panel "styles" is a very popular wish-list item. This update only offers a few more customer-facing controls for styling; but it updates the underlying Style-Engine subsystem as a powerful new foundation for future customization abilities. You will immediately see a change in the appearance of various elements the Tiles on your Panels (and some behavior changes too). Themes have been improved and have previews. We will soon add color customization.
ActionTiles Facelift...
All Tiles are resizable (new: weather, thermostat, music player, blank, mode).
New icon selection for Switch, Contact, Presence, Panel, Momentary Switch, Valve, Shortcut, Motion. Halloween icons for Switches. Boo!
Introducing “Tile Intentions”. Chose individual Tile appearance based on Thing state. Chose from Info, Normal, Accent and Warn Intentions.
Preferences for Tile Size, Tile Header, Footer and Tile Content, Tile Spacer and Tile Corner Radius.
Added Panel Style Page that now contains Panel appearance preferences.
Added Tile samples to preview Panel Themes.
Added 8 new themes. New themes are High Visibility variants of existing themes.
Improved Panel Layout
Improve initial Panel drawing animation.
Improved Tile layout, fonts and icons are size optimized for viewing. Tile Content scales with Tile Size.
Tile Header and Tile Footer are now center aligned.
Panel Tile is now an anchor rather than button (improved navigation, support for right click, middle click, shift+click, etc).
Numeric Tile values are rounded off to the maximum of 2 decimal places.
Some redundant header/footer elements are removed.
Tile Overflow button pushed towards the edge of the Tile.
Improved consistency between Tiles.
Tile Spacer is applied around Tilesets.
Tile Changes
Thermostat Tiles lost Humidity value, added Fan Operating State instead. If required, humidity Tile can be added separately, because humidity is not a standard Thermostat property.
Thermostat Tile support setpoint changes by 0.5 degrees (new Tile preference).
The bottom drawer of Music Player shows controls dynamically based on current state of the player.
Battery icon in Tile footer will not display the numeric value anymore and will not be highlighted when battery is low (improves GUI consistency, aim is to make Tiles more streamlined). Users are welcome to setup a Panel dedicated to battery statuses.
Added battery icons to more Tile footers, where applicable.
New icons for CO, Motion Sensor, Momentary Button Tiles.
Added support for CO2 (carbon dioxide) Capability.
Power, Energy, Illuminance, CO2 Measurement's unit of measure is moved to the footer, because there is no space alongside the value.
Performance
Faster loading time. Reduce memory usage.
Improve Media Tile initial loading.
Miscellaneous
Removed auto-focus on input fields throughout the app
Panel Builder shows Tile dimensions.
Removed Toast Notification when changing Panel Preferences. Changes are saved transparently.
Location Viewer renamed to Location Inventory.
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Thank-you!!!
...Terry & Alex
Thanks for the compliments, your comments and bug reports!
We addressed a number of issues that unfortunately escaped the QA. With the growing number of options, the number of possible combinations to test grows exponentially.
Some fixes have already been deployed, some are pending deployment within the next day. We will monitor and continue to squish bugs as they appear.
If you need any assistance, please don't hesitate to contact support at Support@ActionTiles.com
Thank-you!
Alex and Terry
RELEASE v6.7.3: Panel & Tile tweaks and Minor bug-fixes
Just a few touches today, folks:
- Battery indicator Tile Footer (for Tile types that support a Battery indicator) now has Tile Settings preference option (icon, percentage, both, none):
- Fix: when battery is actually 0%, show battery indicator/percentage
- Fix for Quartz Tileset title font color hard to read
- Fix for Shortcut Tiles break when given custom label on a Panel
- Fix for unable to delete panel
- Energy, power, temperature tiles have preference to show decimals. off be default
- Mug icon added
- Temperature tile to show up to two decimals
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Thank-you!!!
...Terry & Alex
RELEASE v6.4.1 deployed: Invitation Codes no longer required & ActionTiles Connect SmartApp improved
Featured enhancements...
- This Release is primarily the elimination of the requirement for an "Invitation Code" to create an ActionTiles Account.
Now it is super easy to:- (a) Sign-up and use ActionTiles instantly (including 14 day free trial).
- (b) Create additional Buddy Accounts to share Panels with.
- (c) Promote ActionTiles to your friends and social media connections!
- We have also made substantial improvements to the "ActionTiles V6 (Connect)" SmartApp which links your SmartThings Locations to ActionTiles. The effects of these should not be noticeable to most Customers, but ... This Topic thread will be updated with any important information or issues that arise.
We will also update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon, if their status has been affected.
Note:
- The version number of the front-end web app is found on the upper right corner of the Login Page and in the About section of in-app Help.
- You will all receive the update automatically and simultaneously as we force a "reload" of the web page after deployment.
- You can use in the in-app Reload button if you suspect your browser did not refresh to this version (check About to see the Version number).
- FYI: Beta participants have been deployed a slightly different version of the SmartApp -- Please report Beta issues only in the ActionTiles Beta Forum.
RELEASE v6.6.2: Media Tile & Video stream stability enhancements
Fixes / Enhancements
- There have been various reports of "generally working" Video Stream Media Tiles consistently exhibiting various quirks, including:
- working for a while, but then suddenly being stuck or broken, but work again with a manual reload / refresh.
- sometimes requiring the browser cache to be cleared in order to restart video.
- sometimes displaying stale data (particularly for Stop Motion Video / Still Image with Refresh).
- This Release attempts to address the above and perhaps a few similar quirks.
- Beta testers reported noticeable improvement, even though some Video Streams issues could not be resolved consistently without causing other problems.
- NB: Unlike most Tile types, if you modify a Media definition, a reload of the affected Panels is required. Except during building and testing Panels, we presume this situation will not be very common.
Note
This update does not add support for new streaming formats like RTSP, nor fix the problem of "https://user:password@address" (basic HTTP authentication) being blocked by newer versions of Chrome and perhaps some other browsers.
We continue to research ways to expand video handling, but there are no imminent breakthroughs expected. We are still excited about this Release of stability fixes and appreciate your observations! Thanks!
Itemized Details
resume video stream if it failed, recover from errors show camera full screen (click on Media Tile to expand image) close video stream prior to zoom in order to save concurrent sockets
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Thank-you!!!
...Terry (& Alex)
We have deployed a patch (v6.6.2+004) that fixes interruptions of MJPEG streams.
We hope it brings stability across the board.
If you experience any issues, don't hesitate to contact us.
RELEASE v6.6.1: Thermostat operating mode & related enhancements, iOS App Shortcut fix
Overall, this is a minor release; though the improvements to Thermostat Control are really COOL!!!
Enhancements Detail:
- Implemented Fan mode & Thermostat operation mode (cooling vs heating)
- Ability to change tile size and orientation of Heating Thermostat, Cooling Thermostat. Notably, 1x1 minimal tile size is now available to optimize real estate.
- New default size for Heating Thermostat, Cooling Thermostat tiles is now 2 wide x 1 tall:
- Horizontal tiles flow better. The original thermostat tiles from SmartTiles were 1 wide x 2 tall, for the sake of being more interesting, but it doesn't flow quiet as nice as horizontal tiles (but tall orientation is still an option).
- Changed thermostat setpoint buttons to +/- (replacing "^" type arrows).
- Thermostat setpoint buttons are reduced in size to the standard MD-Icon-Button size. These buttons remain the same size across different tile sizes to maintain consistent size as secondary actions. This draws more attention and gives more space for thermostat setpoint value to be seen from distance, while being big enough to be interactive from close distance.
- This is the new direction/standard for Tiles.This will be applied to the only other complex tile we have right now, which is the Music Player and whatever else we come up in the future.
- This is the new direction/standard for Tiles.This will be applied to the only other complex tile we have right now, which is the Music Player and whatever else we come up in the future.
- Fix implemented for iOS Bug of on Shortcut Tiles: They should now be again able to open native Apps (if native app provides a URL).
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
RELEASE v6.6.0+023: PIN Protected SHM and many other Tiles. Few other touches.
Featured enhancements...
- Individual SHM (Smart Home Monitor), Mode Tile, Routines (and individual Routine) Tiles, Switch, Lock, Garage Door, Lock, Valve, Momentary... can now be set to "Interactive" (normal default behavior), "View Only", or "PIN Protected". Find these options under the Tile Options / Tile Security for each Tile you wish to PIN protect.
- Note: All Tiles on a Panel instance share the same PIN code. Set this PIN code in Panel Settings.
- Cue Card / Help has not been provided for this PIN feature yet. We encourage you to explore and comment on the complexity or simplicity of the feature.
Itemized Details
PIN code for individual Routine Tiles PIN code for Image Capture, Momentary PIN code for Lock, Valve PIN for Garage Door PIN code for Switch PIN code for Modes Tile & Routines Tile Tile security moved to a separate dialog Rearrange icon changed to arrows. Smoke, CO supports value "tested". Bumped connection loss timeout from 5 sec to 15 sec Fix for tile icons, tiles 3x2, 3x1 Prevent text selection on PIN pad. Disable elastic scrolling for ios Prevent pinch-zoom on ios safari Added direct "big" button to AUTHORIZE on Location Viewer if Uninstalled Location. Show Location ID on Location Viewer, Copy Location ID to clipboard Removed overflow menu on Location View page. Removed location settings page, merged to Location View page. Location Viewer: changed everything to view-only Add link from Tile Properties to Panel Properties#security PIN unlock entry: Removed ENTER, DELETE, CLEAR buttons
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
⚠️ Security Alert:
PIN Protected Tiles are a super new Feature that we are proud to finally release. But please heed this warning below regarding the inherent vulnerability of this Feature. This is not a design flaw -- it is the intentional behavior:
PIN Protection can be bypassed (with a little bit of effort) unless used by a Buddy using Shared Panel. In other words, if you are logged in as the creator of a Panel with PIN Protected Tiles, then whoever is using that browser can pretty easily edit the Panel and disable the PIN. But if you share the Panel to a Buddy, they cannot edit the Tiles or Tile Security Settings on the Panel, or add new Tiles, or change Panel Settings; and thus, it is much more secure.
We will be publishing a Knowledge Base / FAQ (and perhaps even a Blog and Video) to give a more comprehensive explanation of this. Your questions are welcome in the meantime, as they will help us know what the "Frequently Asked Questions" are that we will need to cover! 😁
Have a great weekend!
Thank-you!!!
...Terry (& Alex)
RELEASE v6.5.0 deployed: Panel copy, Tileset copy, and Individual Tile size options...
Featured enhancements...
- Make a Copy of entire Panel (use the Panel Builder's menu)
- Copy a Tileset to another Panel (use a Tileset's menu)
- More individual Tile Settings in Panel Builder, including dimension multiples (use the Tile's menu)
- Large Clock Tiles
- New icons are used for each of Smart Home Monitor (SHM) mode. SHM mode selection is now a slide-up-drawer (like a dimmer or Routines selection)
- Music Player Tile: Play & Pause, Play & Stop are reversed to more common app conventions (i.e., shows "pause" button when playing, etc.)
We will update various open "Bug & Idea Topics" soon if their status has been affected.
Overview:
- Some additional tweaks, wording / spelling fixes, and various back-end improvements.
Note:
- This is an update of the front-end web app only. The SmartApp "ActionTiles (Connect) V6", ie the connector to SmartThings, is unaffected. The SmartApp will change very rarely; but, this time, we actually do have a pending SmartApp deployment.
- The version number of the front-end web app is found on the upper right corner of the Login Page and in the About section of in-app Help.
- You will all receive the update automatically and simultaneously as we force a "reload" of the web page after deployment.
- You can use in the Reload App button if you suspect your browser did not refresh to this version.
Customer support service by UserEcho