Automagic Forum

Hey guys,

I'm new here and to "AutoMagic". I've been messing around a bit with "Tasker", but it doesn't seem to work reliably on my phone, so I thought I'll give "AutoMagic" a try.

Let me explain my budding interest in phone automation (if anybody is interested in my ramblings at all). Up to about 3 years ago I was what the geeks here would call a "technologically challenged person" and in so many ways I still am. I only got my first Android phone a little bit more than two years ago (and only because a wonderful G+mate gave me one) and I've been hooked ever since. I can't get enough of technology!

Soon after I realised that our technological future will be a wonderful place to be (I'm not that sure about the political one) I got interested in home automation. Making my home smart has become a dream of mine and now with Android and a genius system called "Vera Lite" and "Z-Wave" it'll finally become reality.

Or will it?

As I mentioned before (am I babbling again?) I dug straight into "Tasker", because I was told it works wonderfully with "Vera Lite". Well, that might be the case, but it certainly doesn't work wonderfully with my phone. Profiles that worked one day didn't the next. Sometimes they started working again after rebooting the phone, sometimes they didn't. After only a couple of weeks I was going up the walls. Then a member of the G+ Tasker community suggested I try "AutoMagic" and here I am.

If you've actually read all the way through to this point I will start straight away with a couple of questions (Sugar! Maybe I should've asked them at the beginning).

Question 1: Are the "Tasker" plug-ins "AutoVoice" and "AutoVera" compatible with "AutoMagic" ? If not, are there other ways to realise voice control and control of "Vera Lite" with this app?

Question 2: I started with a simple "Flow" (Wow! I'm already talking like a pro) and noticed that while at "Tasker", when I add 2 or more triggers to a profile they work as "and", in "AutoMagic" the triggers in a "Flow" work as "or". Can that be changed in any way? E.g. I want my "Night Clock" app to start when I plug in the recharger AND turn the phone onto its face, not when ONE OF THE TWO things happens. (I'm aware that this is a daft beginners question, but that is exactly what I am)

Well, let that be enough for now, before I get evicted on my first day here. I'd very much appreciate any input and I hope that in the near future, when I'm more proficient at "AutoMagic" I'll be able to help newbies too.

UPDATE: Actually figured the second question out myself. I did it by adding the second trigger as a condition. Was that the right way to do it?

So, let's ask another beginners question. How do I create the equivalent of a "Tasker" exit task in "AutoMagic"?

Autovoice is compatible with Automagic.
Using a condition following a trigger is one way to simulate AND. If no condition, matching a trigger, is available, you can let one flow set state of another flow to active.

Thx a bunch, Bushmills, but you'll have to elaborate on that one. Beginner, remember? Isn't this rather complicated? Maybe that would be a handy feature request. The option to choose been "and" and "or".

So AutoVoice is compatible? What about AutoVera? If I can't use AutoMagic to control my HA system the whole exercise becomes academic.

Triggers are frequently transient events, no semi permanent states. ANDing requires states. A state could be "event has occurred not longer than specified time ago".
As events aren't likely to take place at exactly the same time, they're no good sources for ANDing - when one takes place, the other has already passed. Therefore would triggers need some expiration time component before ANDing them makes any sense.
By using a condition, you usually test a state, those are eminently more ANDable.

Erm ... Yes ... Well. I'm sure that's all true.

To come back to my questions. AutoVera? Exit task?

Are there any good tutorials around for the technologically challenged?