Open/Close not working with Programs

[mapeter]

I finally got around to programming my Echo to work my Hunter Douglas PowerView shades.  I created programs in the ISY to invoke Network Resources that fire http requests to the PowerView hub.  When I went to test it with the command "Alexa, Open the Dinette Shades", the Echo responded with the error tone.  However, saying "Alexa, Turn on the Dinette Shades" worked just fine.

 

The commands Open and Close work just fine for Devices and Scenes, but is not working for Programs.  I am really hoping this is an easy fix.  Anyone have any ideas?

 

--Andy

[jerlands]

You can use Open and Close in the Skill but it's addressing devices and you'd have to say... Alexa, tell Izzy to open <device name>

Running programs in the Skill you'd say Alexa, tell Izzy to run <program name> and the program would run from "If."

 

Running programs in Connected Home you'd say Alexa, <program name> On/Off where On=run Then and Off=run Else.

In Connected Home Open and Close have no definition as such that I'm aware of.

 

 

Jon...

[mapeter]

Since ISY devices, scenes and programs all appear as devices in Connected Home, I was hoping that programs would respond to "open" (executes the Then path) and "close" (executes the Else path), similar to devices and scenes.  Perhaps UDI can make a tweak to let programs respond to open and close.  Pretty please

 

Edit: While I am asking... It would also be helpful if "Turn up" would run the Then path and "Turn down" would run the Else path of a program.  I would like to be able to have a program fire http commands to adjust the volume of my kitchen stereo.  "Alexa, turn up the kitchen radio".

Edited March 22, 2016 by mapeter

[Scottmichaelj]

Since ISY devices, scenes and programs all appear as devices in Connected Home, I was hoping that programs would respond to "open" (executes the Then path) and "close" (executes the Else path), similar to devices and scenes. Perhaps UDI can make a tweak to let programs respond to open and close. Pretty please

 

Edit: While I am asking... It would also be helpful if "Turn up" would run the Then path and "Turn down" would run the Else path of a program. I would like to be able to have a program fire http commands to adjust the volume of my kitchen stereo. "Alexa, turn up the kitchen radio".

I have "open" and "close" working with programs. Not sure if todays update stopped it though.

 

Edit: Just tested this and even after the change back to "ok" today its still working. "Alexa close bedroom shades" - open works too. Open is in "then" and close is "else".

Edited March 22, 2016 by Scottmichaelj

[stusviews]

I'm having success with open and close for both devices and scenes, but not at all with programs.

[mapeter]

Do any of the UDI people have any thoughts on this?  It is interesting that open/close is not working for Stu and I, but it is working for Scott.

Telling the shades to turn on and off isn't natural

Thanks!

--Andy

[stusviews]

Do any of the UDI people have any thoughts on this?  It is interesting that open/close is not working for Stu and I, but it is working for Scott.

Telling the shades to turn on and off isn't natural

Thanks!

--Andy

 

Andy, have you tried open/close with programs?

[mapeter]

Andy, have you tried open/close with programs?

 

Yes, I have tried open/close with programs and it is not working.  Open and close only works for devices and scenes.

[cyberk]

mapeter: I've been looking into motorized shades, how does powerview measure up? My concern right now is pricing, the only ones I've been able to find through distribution are lutron shades. Any suggestions?

[tmorse305]

Has there been any follow up by UDI on this question?  Open and Close do not work on my programs either but it would great if they did as I'm controlling shades too.  It's odd that it works only for Scott.  Hopefully UDI can tell us whether it should work for all of us.

 

Thanks,

 

Tim

[Michel Kohanim]

Hi Tim,

 

No not yet. Looking into it.

 

With kind regards,

Michel

[bmercier]

Hi everyone,

 

I looked into it, and it does work. However, it is very picky.

 

First of all, for the purpose of clarification, we are speaking of CoHo (Connected Home) here, not the ISY skill. The ISY skill already works well with Open/Close. CoHo is another story. 

 

Alexa will route the open/close request to CoHo only if it clearly recognizes the "device" name. The "device" itself can of course be any "device" you have defined in ISY portal, be it a program, scene or regular device. When the Alexa request hits UDI servers, the request is always processed correctly, even for programs.

 

The problem is that open/close can be used for other things than CoHo. For example, open can be used to invoke a skill. "Alexa, open ISY" will open the ISY skill.

 

But as I mentioned, if it does recognize well the "device", it will be routed to CoHo.

 

You can try this:

In ISY portal, setup a program, and use "kitchen" as the spoken.

 

"kitchen" is a very easy to understand spoken and it should be routed correctly to CoHo. More complex variations may not work as well as with a turn on/turn off.

 

I have tested open/close and found it very picky. Perhaps too much to be really usable. But keep in mind we do not have control over this. If it's not routed to CoHo, we cannot help much.

 

Benoit.

[tmorse305]

Thanks for looking into it Benoit,

 

Wow, picky indeed.  Based on your suggestions I simplified my device name to 'shade'.  I then could 'close' the shade reliably but never 'open' it no matter how many times I tried.  I went back to the portal and added 'shades' as an alternate name.  Close always works, open never.  I attached the history from Alexa, you can see the vocal command is being interpreted correctly, except for one time where it heard 'shape' instead of 'shade'.  The behavior is very inconsistent.  There is never an error message back from Alexa just the error tone.  I'll be curious what other users experience.

 

Tim

 

Edit:  I also found 'open'ing and 'close'ing scenes instead of 'on' and 'off' works every time.  Does Alexa know the difference between a scene and a program?  That might suggest a different problem.

Edited April 9, 2016 by tmorse305

[mapeter]

mapeter: I've been looking into motorized shades, how does powerview measure up? My concern right now is pricing, the only ones I've been able to find through distribution are lutron shades. Any suggestions?

 

Hi cyberk- My PowerView shades were pretty expensive.  I have them on three windows, and each is a combination blackout shade and Silhouette.  That makes them two shades in one.  It was over $6000 for all three plus the hub.

[stusviews]

We have Somfy over and under. You can double, triple even halve to price depending on just the fabric you select.

[bmercier]

Thanks for looking into it Benoit,

 

Wow, picky indeed.  Based on your suggestions I simplified my device name to 'shade'.  I then could 'close' the shade reliably but never 'open' it no matter how many times I tried.  I went back to the portal and added 'shades' as an alternate name.  Close always works, open never.  I attached the history from Alexa, you can see the vocal command is being interpreted correctly, except for one time where it heard 'shape' instead of 'shade'.  The behavior is very inconsistent.  There is never an error message back from Alexa just the error tone.  I'll be curious what other users experience.

 

Tim

 

Edit:  I also found 'open'ing and 'close'ing scenes instead of 'on' and 'off' works every time.  Does Alexa know the difference between a scene and a program?  That might suggest a different problem.

 

Alexa is not aware of the type of device. If you try the same exact spoken that you use successfully for scene and use it for a program, you should get the same results.

 

Benoit.

[stusviews]

Alexa is not aware of the type of device. If you try the same exact spoken that you use successfully for scene and use it for a program, you should get the same results.

 

Benoit.

 

I have nearly 14 programs that control window coverings, garage doors and locks. None respond to open or close. I also have dozens of devices and scenes. I haven't tested each and every one, but every device and scene I have tried respond to open and close.

 

I'm expecting open to run Then and close to run Else.

[bmercier]

I have nearly 14 programs that control window coverings, garage doors and locks. None respond to open or close. I also have dozens of devices and scenes. I haven't tested each and every one, but every device and scene I have tried respond to open and close.

 

I'm expecting open to run Then and close to run Else.

 

Are you using CoHo for both programs, and devices/scenes?

 

Please try to reuse a spoken that works on a device, and use it on a program. That should work.

 

Yes, Open/TurnOn would runs then, close/TurnOff runs else.

 

Benoit.

[stusviews]

Yes, I'm using CoHo. Results delayed due to early flight tomorrow

[tmorse305]

Thanks for your reply Benoit,

 

I tried swapping names.  You're right, if I call my shade 'Bar Light' it works perfectly with open and close commands.  

I tried 'shade', 'shades', 'window', 'window shade', 'blind', none of them work, even when assigned to a device.

 

I wonder if Amazon has some words 'reserved' somehow or words they are taking different action with so they never make it to UDI.

 

Thanks again for helping to troubleshoot this with all of us.

 

Tim

 

Edit: Reply from Amazon on this issue:

 

This is Steve from the Echo Team. I'm sorry your Echo s only picking up certain commands for controlling your window shades. Currently, Alexa can only understand the "turn on" or the Turn off" commands. We're working on adding more commands to Alexa's vocabulary for connected home devices, and, as soon as this is implemented, we will let you know about the updates on the Alexa app.
 

Edited April 13, 2016 by tmorse305

[cyberk]

Open and close work fine on my end with "front door" and "patio door"

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[stusviews]

Open/Close the kitchen shade results in OK, but nothing happens, On/Off works. Open/Close the verticals results in a ding sound, On/Off works. So, the same command gives a different result.

[cyberk]

For me, Open Front Door is the same as saying Turn On Front Door, while Close Front Door is the same as saying Turn Off Front Door.

 

So Open = Turn On, Close = Turn Off

 

Open/On: Runs If

Close/Off: Runs Else

 

Now, in my latest testing, and keep in mind, I have to test more, it feels like open/close is not actually running IF/Else, but actually running Then/Else. I'll do more testing on this and confirm

 

Are you including the word "The" in your spoken assignment? If so, have you tried removing "The" and just doing "kitchen shade" such that you say "open kitchen shade"

[cyberk]

Hi cyberk- My PowerView shades were pretty expensive.  I have them on three windows, and each is a combination blackout shade and Silhouette.  That makes them two shades in one.  It was over $6000 for all three plus the hub.

 

Thanks mapeter, definitely more than I'm looking to spend. I do like the combination sheer/blackout though.

[cyberk]

We have Somfy over and under. You can double, triple even halve to price depending on just the fabric you select.

 

Do you have any distribution contracts that can provide pricing?