Include Month / Day / Year in schedule

[deeepdish]

For seasonal tasks, such as irrigation programs, Christmas lights, etc.. it would be nice to include day / month / year functionality in the scheduling facility. The Year should allow selections for a specific year, current year, as well as an annual option.

 

Thanks.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello deeepdish,

 

Just to be clear: are you asking for recurring dates, specific dates, or both? Currently, if you uncheck the "Daily" checkbox, you will be able to choose a specific day/month/year. And, as a workaround for recurring schedules, you can OR the specific date ranges to get the desired results.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

For seasonal tasks, such as irrigation programs, Christmas lights, etc.. it would be nice to include day / month / year functionality in the scheduling facility. The Year should allow selections for a specific year, current year, as well as an annual option.

 

Thanks.

[deeepdish]

Michel,

 

I'm asking for specific date ranges..

[Chris Jahn]

Not sure I'm following this; we have date ranges now, but they require specific day/month/years.

 

e.g. From 2008/12/23 5:00:00 PM To 2009/01/01 9:00:00 AM.

 

 

In a future release, we may add weekly/monthly/yearly options.

[deeepdish]

Chirs,

 

Yes, specific ranges are supported on absolute dates. I'm requesting relative schedules.

 

E.g. From june 1st current year to May 31st next year. Part of this you can also include scheduling by weeks (e.g from Week 26 to 52).

 

Relative ranges can be set on recurring schedules. Such as every year, from May - June, do [ run sprinkers 3 times / wk ]; else once per wk -- as an example.

 

Thanks.

[Sub-Routine]

I am still wishing for schedules such as Last Monday in May

 

Thank you,

Rand

[DBaldwin]

Not sure I'm following this; we have date ranges now, but they require specific day/month/years.

 

e.g. From 2008/12/23 5:00:00 PM To 2009/01/01 9:00:00 AM.

 

 

In a future release, we may add weekly/monthly/yearly options.

 

I too would like to see the ability to have a seasonal schedule that would be indipendent of a specific year.

 

For example, December 1st to December 31st. This would be for Christmas lights every year instead of having to reprogram each year. There are other annual uses that happen each year.

 

I think this was discussed before and you indicated that it would be in a future release

[Zellarman]

Dave, you also could check/uncheck the enabled box on the programs as opposed to having to rewrite them

[DBaldwin]

Dave, you also could check/uncheck the enabled box on the programs as opposed to having to rewrite them

 

Yes, that is what I have done.

 

For example, I'd like to have my outside lights stay off until after midnight on the 4th of July so I can see better to duck out of the way of my bottle rockets when the bottle falls over. (Grin)

 

Currentlyl, I have to change the year date annually for each special event. Events like the Christmas season, New Years Eve, (not good to turn the lights out early on a bunch of drunks) 4th of July and my Wife's Birthday, (my birthday is no big deal). Changing the year on each of these programs is not a big deal but slightly annoying.

 

Then, I am often gone from the house for weeks at a time and those times are often during various holiday seasons. Thanks to ISY and the internet, I can log in and change the year if I am on the road. Now, how cool is that?

 

Anyway, enough said, I just think it would be nice to have schedule capability that was independent of the year so that annually you could have a special event without having to modify the programs.

 

BTW, Chris, don't forget when you fix the leap year event that there isn't a leap year when the year is evenly divisible by 400. The year 2000 was the last one and this product is so good that I fully expect it to be in operation in the year 2400 and I'd hate to think of all the email you'd get if the date leaped forward that year.

[Sub-Routine]

 

BTW, Chris, don't forget when you fix the leap year event that there isn't a leap year when the year is evenly divisible by 400. The year 2000 was the last one and this product is so good that I fully expect it to be in operation in the year 2400 and I'd hate to think of all the email you'd get if the date leaped forward that year.

 

I believe leap day is skipped every century except every 400 years. That made 2000 an exception and we had a leap year. 2100 is the next time we skip a leap year.

 

Here it is:

 

 

In other words, a century year cannot be a leap year unless it is divisible by 400. Thus 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not leap years, but 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years.

 

Rand

[Mark Sanctuary]

Hey I was wondering if you guys had this feature (weekly/monthly/yearly) worked out yet?

 

In a future release, we may add weekly/monthly/yearly options.

This is my Thanksgiving to New Years program.

 

From    12:00:00PM on 2008/11/27
To      12:00:00PM on 2009/01/02

And this is what I would like to do with it.

 

From    12:00:00PM on 11/27
To      12:00:00PM on 01/02 (next year)

[Chris Jahn]

Hey I was wondering if you guys had this feature (weekly/monthly/yearly) worked out yet?

 

Hi Mark,

 

Weekly is there (eg. every Monday), but the monthly/yearly feature has not been added yet. It will likely be done in the release after 2.7.

[Mark Sanctuary]

Oops I just copied the text, so it should be just (monthly/yearly).

 

Sweet looking forward to this feature.

 

Thanks!

[dkaleita]

Any word on a yearly/annual option yet?

 

Dave K.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Dave,

 

Unfortunately not yet and I cannot give you an ETA. Our current priority is getting back to a stable version since we had to basically change our whole communications scheme to support thermostat V2.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[DBaldwin]

For the past several years there have been scattered requests for an option where the date could be entered without the year. This is to allow for annual, repeditive programing such as holiday lighting, sprinkling activites and other similar activities that take place on an annual basis.

 

Some time ago, Chris Jahn indicated that it might be addressed sometime after a stable 2.7 was released. Any chance that this item is moving toward the forfront?

 

Dave Baldwin

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello DBaldwin,

 

This requirement does not have a high priority since there exists a workaround.

 

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[dkaleita]

Where do we find the description of that work-around?

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello dkaleita,

 

You can either create Programs or Folders wherein the condition is the range of days/months/years for the next n number of days/months/years ORed together. Then you can use the Programs as variables (such as Decembers) or if you are using Folders then you can simply put your programs in those folders.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[DBaldwin]

Hello dkaleita,

 

You can either create Programs or Folders wherein the condition is the range of days/months/years for the next n number of days/months/years ORed together. Then you can use the Programs as variables (such as Decembers) or if you are using Folders then you can simply put your programs in those folders.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

 

The clarity of your reply regarding a work-a-round is a bit muddy for me. Any one aware of an example?

 

Of topic, one of my observations regarding this product (ISY firmware) is over time it has become more and more of a product (albeit with great support) that requires a computer nerd or geek to use it. In fact, to a greater extent than any others that I have ever been involved with. I have been involved in computer programing since the early days of manually inputing machine language using spring loaded toggle switches in the 1950's. Our big advance at that time was the development of paper tape for input. (Grin) Of course for those who can do the math, you will note that I am getting on in years and my cognitive capabilities are not what they once were. (Big Grin)

 

I've enjoyed using the ISY 26 and ISY 99 over the past few years and prior to that using X10 but I'm a tinkerer by nature and am fascinated with technology and how things work but the concept of having to do many things with work-a-rounds such as this detracts from providing a user freindly product. A goal that I thought was one of ISY's main directions. It seems to me that ISY has gotten a bit off track and I think that is a shame.

 

Unfortunatly for me, my wife lacks interest in anything to do with a computer unless it is to play a solitare program and then only if it comes up cleanly on to the screen with out a problem.

 

It is becoming clear to me as I get older, that I need to start looking for a less complicated product that my family will be able to use after my demise or I need to rip it all out and convert back to manually operated switches. That is a shame as my goal was to make the house looked lived in whether I was home or not. With lighting control and drappery control that goal has largly been met.

 

The area that I am having the most problem with is seasonal lighting displays that my wife likes to set up and she expects them to turn on and off with sunrise and sunset like other lighting does year round. Trouble is, I forget that I need to modify the software in the ISY on an annual basis. So the pumpkin doesn't lite up or the tree lites that she erected are dark and she makes a comment about the house's electrical system that I can not repeat here. (Grin)

 

If I want something to happen every year on the 4th of July for the next 100 years, it seems a bit troublesome to have to write 100 lines of code, and then there is Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, the Happy Birthday sign that she bought that needs to be illuminated for the Great Grandchilds (times 14) birthday. Anyway, you get the idea. (Grin)

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello Dave,

 

Here's an example for Christmas:

If
       From    12:00:00AM on 2010/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2011/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2012/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2013/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2014/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2015/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2016/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2017/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2018/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2019/12/25
       For      24 hours 
    Or From    12:00:00AM on 2020/12/25
       For      24 hours 

Then
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

Else
  - No Actions - (To add one, press 'Action')

 

As far as your other comments and as much as I understand your frustration, and as much as we want to implement all requirements, but unfortunatley we do not have unlimited resources to address all requirements.

 

As such, we have to prioritize all requirements ensuring that a) we have addressed core issues the system is stable and reliable and c) we have support for all new INSTEON devices.

 

This is not an excuse but the reality of our business.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[DBaldwin]

Thank you Michel for your, as usual, prompt and most courteous reply.

 

I'll try your suggestion and I can see how that would allow for multi-year applications, but it seems to me to be less of a workaround and more of a kludge. (Grin)

[dkaleita]

I agree. This is the way I'm already doing it. It's still a problem because it is guaranteed to stop working at some point in the future.

[ErikN]

Sadly, this feature WAS available in the old basic X10 software many years ago (not the Pro version they sell now, which has variables too I might add), so it seems kind of odd that a much more advanced product like the ISY cannot do it too. The whole point of having an "automated" system is that one does not have to manually adjust it regularly. A kludge workaround for multiple years just reduces the frequency of the manual adjustment (while eating up memory and potentially slowing down the system) but does not solve the original problem of full automation in my view.

 

I love this product and am really impressed by its capabilities and potential, and the effort that goes into supporting and improving it. I also very much understand resources are limited, but I don't see how something as basic as recurring dates cannot be considered more of a priority. So here's hoping that we see something in the not too distant future on this. Meanwhile, thanks for everything and keep up the great work!

[Michel Kohanim]

Hello ErikN,

 

Thanks so very much for the feedback. Both of these requests are in our requirements list.

 

With kind regards,

Michel