Show Link table reporting, requesting feature please!

[rlanza1054]

Hi,

 

It Rob, the newbie again.

 

Here is what I am having trouble with and wanted to suggest an addition to the ISY 'Show Link Tables' which is used for troubleshooting.

 

I'm not here to get help on my problem just to make a suggestion/request. (I'll ask for help in the proper thread area).

 

I went to look for bad links that might have been added to a Insteon device/module.

 

In Admin you go to Tools, then Diagnostics, then Show Device Link Tables or you could do Show ISY link tables and you can do Show PLM link tables.

 

I will focus my request on Show Device Link Tables.

 

You then pick a device, maybe the bathroom micro dimmer, then you click start and let it go out and find the links stored in the micro dimmer.

 

Here is the trouble for me and I'm sure to others, its had to figure out the HEX address codes of a device and match it up to a particular device.

 

I don't have and never will memorize my entire Insteon devices address codes.

 

So just looking at a screen full of codes requires me to spend considerable amount of time matching a code to the name I gave the device.

 

Here is the request:

 

Please add a field to the table that shows the device name we named it. So if I see A4.01.B3 instead of me having to search through the entire device list on the main page looking for that address, it will just have the name next to the code. 

 

And since I don't know yet how to even interrupt the report, I am assuming it is saying in one line, device xx.xx.xx to xx.xx.xx

 

Can you make it it would also show:

 

xx.xx.xx to xx.xx.xx - bathroom light switch to  bathroom motion sensor

or

 

xx.xx.xx to xx.xx.xx - bedroom closet light to keypadlinc key C

 

It is pretty much how the Houselinc software presented the report when you looked for bad or missing links.

 

Thank you!

 

Rob

​

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi rlanza,

That feature is for comparing what ISY has vs. what the device has and automatically by clicking the Compare button. It's really not a tool to figure out what's linked to what as ISY should have already taken care of all of those for you. A better question is: what is the problem you are having? Have you contacted support?

 

In the meantime, and for your reference:

http://wiki.universal-devices.com/index.php?title=ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Tools_Menu#Show_Links_Table 

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[rlanza1054]

Maybe I am not clear in what want.

 

Attached is a link report, in that report are devices that are linked to the Keypadlinc which is what I did the report on.

 

Please tell me the device that are link to the Keypadlinc....which are they...

 

Use the attached file linkreport 2 can you tell me was is in line 3?

 

it list 34.66.89 what device is that, is that the kitchen light, the bathroom light...

 

what is it...

 

you can't tell me from looking at this report can you?

 

To know what that device is I have to look at every single devices address and see what name I gave it.

 

I am just asking that the software do the lookup for the name I gave the device and list it perhaps in the exist field at the end, the wiki docs says its not presently used. just add the name of the device so I do have to get frustrated to find it.

 

Now do you know what I am requesting to be added to the report!

 

Have you memorized all the addresses of your devices and where those devices are installed.

 

If I accidentally added a bedroom light to the livingroom keypadlinc I would like to know easily so I can fix it.

 

I should not have to bother support for it, and how will support tell me the bedroom light is linked to the livingroom keypadlinc, They won't know either.

 

I think my request for improvement in the report is sound and reasonable.

 

Thank you

 

Rob

 

 

 

[LeeG]

Try sorting the display by Insteon address.   That makes locating the Insteon address easy.

[Michel Kohanim]

rlanza1024,

 

As LeeG suggested, you can sort by address. Or, you can to Tools | Generate Topology and then have a printout in HTML available and look it up. I am terribly sorry but, at the moment, we have so much on our plate that even if we decided to include this feature, it would have an extremely low priority.

 

With kind regards,
Michel

[rlanza1054]

I was not asking for it to be immediately be done.

 

I was suggesting this for the new 5.0 software.

 

And look at all the steps you just told me to do to get an answer, when if it was added into the field and when the report is being generated, the software just needs to do a lookup table to find the name and insert it into the report being generated when it goes out to find the Links.

 

Why on earth would you say its so easy just to import and open in html or excel and sort address, and then how do I get the names assigned to addresses? Where does that come from.

 

That's easier than to just have it he done when the Links are gotten?

 

You must like programming a lot! LOL!

 

And what made me ask for this is that the simple Houselinc software does exactly this.

 

Again, I was just suggesting for new 5.0 not now.

 

I will figure it out for now, or send in the reports to support to find problems. I just want to fix things myself.

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Rob,

 

What are you trying to fix? The whole purpose of ISY is to hide ALL these for you. ISY is not HouseLinc and you can NOT change link records. All you can do is to Restore a device and then ISY handles the rest. You can compare the link records in the device with what ISY thinks they should have, if there are any mismatches, then you restore the device.

 

With kind regards,
Michel

[LeeG]

The workaround provides the information.

[Xathros]

Hi Rob-

 

Welcome to the forums.  I've been following your adventures here in ISY land for a few days now.

 

As Michel and LeeG have pointed out above, there are currently a few good methods for seeing what the ISY believes the links to be.  These are:

 

1. The Topology Report - print one of these, or just save the html to your desktop for easy reference. Replace with an updated one after making changes.
2. Select the Device in the Admin console and look at "Is Controller Of" and "Is Responder To" areas on the far right.

 

If you are looking for bad links, do the show device links, then click compare.  ISY will do the hard work for you.  If it finds a bad link, simply select "Restore Device" to wipe and rewrite the correct links back to the device.

 

I understand what you are asking for above and can see some value in your request.  There are a few places in the admin console where I would like to see device names in place of the addresses - mostly in the event trace.  That said, it's been very rarely that I have needed to look up a name to for a hex address when debugging a problem.

 

Hope this helps.

 

-Xathros

[rlanza1054]

That's ok.

 

I understand all of that honestly.

 

I want to just suggest it to be added, I never asked for a timetable.

 

I know everyone is working on version 5.0.

 

Maybe in some update after 5.0 is released, that could even be a year away.

 

Again, it just seemed like a simple thing to add because its really simple to do. Its a lookup table, match Insteon address to name given by user which is already stored in the database. As the report is being generated, when you add the address to the report, you just go and use the lookup table to get the name and insert into a field at the end of the line where that address is listed. From what I read in the wiki, there is an extra field that is not being used for anything, it was inserted there for something in the future.

 

Again, its not something that I ever ever expected to be done immediately.

 

I read that that is what you usually do for users. I never encounter a company that would  add a feature immediately because someone just asked.

 

I thought I posted the request in a thread for suggestions of features.

But the replies just kept saying it can't be done now.

 

I guess if I got back something like your last post to me, "Hey Robert, nice idea, it will go to the bottom of the list and no time frame can be given when it might be added"

 

That's all I was ever expecting.

 

I always knew I could manually do all these multiple of steps to get the information. Or I could just memorize all 20 Insteon device addresses. Heck, I used to be good at memorizing phone numbers before we had smartphones. LOL!

 

Look, its all good.

 

You guys do an outstanding job of helping us!

 

Rob​