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New How to turn off multiple lights. from one tile named Kitchen
I have linked to my location and pulled all my devices. I can create a tile for each light and turn off/on but how do I say add two bedroom lights under one tile. so the both turn on/off. I tried creating a routine that says bedroom on and bedroom off but could not get them into actiontile. Im familiar with how to do this in hue and wink, but im lost on this please help.
Answers
Hi JC,
Using SmartThings Routines (and then ActionTiles "Routine Tiles") is the easiest way to do this.
Have you tried adding Routine Tiles to a Tileset on a Panel?
Thanks,
...Terry.
Terry, have you guys thought about adding the ability to run CoRE pistons? With a routine, I have to have one tile to turn on a set of lights and a separate tile to turn off the set of lights. If I used a CoRE piston, I could just toggle set of lights (on/off.)
We are considering direct integration with CoRE (or WebCoRE), but it is not a high priority given that there are reasonable workarounds via Virtual Switches tied to a piston (and even, for just lighting, Smart Lighting).
I have 10 LIFX bulbs in my home. Id like to second the "Grouping" function. I can group in the LIFX app or Alexa, but Smart Things doesnt recognize the group. I have 4 overhead lights in my living room. the above suggestion of a routine would work fine for "on/off" but not color changes, unless you make a routine for all the colors which is silly. (then you have to for many different dimness levers as well).
Alexa providing Groups is an example of how quickly this functionality can become redundant and why it belongs in SmartThings, so that the same Groups can be used by any SmartApp.
Indeed, color/dim level selection makes using Routines for this impractical.
"Virtual Switches" are a fully functional implementation, except that they do not have a user friendly implementation in the SmartThings product. I still think that perhaps providing a good Virtual Switch tutorial is the most expedient way to offer this Feature.
Is there any documentation you can point me to that describes how to create a virtual switch that supports color/dim?
I think these are the steps needed to help with couple questions in this thread. Beware, I haven't really tested this....
In the ST IDE, Device Handlers, New, paste code from...
https://community.smartthings.com/t/how-to-create-a-virtual-dimmer/27479/3
In the ST IDE, My Devices, New...
- name it 'test dimmer'
- type pulldown: pick your new DH Virtual Dimmer
- save
In ST app, things, add a thing, find your 'test dimmer'
In WebCore, new piston
IF 'test dimmer' changes to on //or some level
THEN execute routine "your routine" //or set group of lights to a level.
Hi. I added a routine to my SmartThings app which works OK but the routine doesn't show up in the Action Tiles Routines list. Is there something that I need to refresh to get it to appear? Have tried reloading the app/page and logging out and in of Action Tiles. thanks
As of June 2018, I think the best way to control multiple lights with a single Tile is to use a combination of Smart Lighting and a virtual switch.
This is a straight forward and native method that works locally if you want to tie the master switch to other automations.
- In SmartThings mobile app, go to Automations / Add a SmartApp > More > Virtual Device Creator : create a new virtual switch/dimmer.
- Then, go to Add a SmartApp > Lights & Switches > Smart Lighting > New Lighting Automation.
- select devices you want to control
- under "What do you want to do?" select "Mirror Behavior"
- under "Mirror which switch" select the virtual switch that you created in the first step
- Now, the master switch can be added as a Tile.
- If you don't see the newly created virtual switch in your ActionTiles device inventory, in ActionTiles go to My Locations / <Location> and tap SYNCHRONIZE.
Alternatively, if you don't want to create a virtual switch, you may chose to designate one of the devices in the group as the master switch. Using Smart Lighting for grouping lights is the official SmartThings way to handle this use case.
Please refer to our knowledge base:
Customer support service by UserEcho
As of June 2018, I think the best way to control multiple lights with a single Tile is to use a combination of Smart Lighting and a virtual switch.
This is a straight forward and native method that works locally if you want to tie the master switch to other automations.
Alternatively, if you don't want to create a virtual switch, you may chose to designate one of the devices in the group as the master switch. Using Smart Lighting for grouping lights is the official SmartThings way to handle this use case.
Please refer to our knowledge base:
https://support.actiontiles.com/knowledge-bases/8/articles/3993-grouping-lights-controlling-multiple-switches-with-one-tile