Keypadlinc Programing

[MTellevik]

I Apologize if this is in the wrong spot, let me know and I'll repost it correctly.

Newbie question:

I have a 6 Button Keypad Linc 2487S I would like the C and D buttons to be mutually exclusive.

If I press C then C would be on and D would be off

If I press D then D would be on and C woiuld be off.

I know this should be simple but I just cannot get it working. 😡

[Techman]

Can you give a little more information, what would the C & D buttons be controlling?

 

[jkmcfadden]

I have done something similar using just scenes, but it is pretty convoluted in my opinion.  You have to set a key "on" status to "off" and the like. 

So, I generally use programs to do this.  I find them easier to understand and maintain.

Create a scene for each key and assign just the one key as a controller for the scene.  The create a program for each key that, when triggered, executes whatever you want to do but also turns the other key scenes off. 

I use this procedure for my ceiling fan buttons.  When I press the 'low" button, it sets the fan to low and turns the other buttons off.   Similar programs for med, high and off.

I group all my key programs in a folder for readability.

You have to create a scene for each key because, while you can recognize a key press in an if statement, you can't control a specific key in the resulting then/else.  So, you control via the scene.

 

 

[oberkc]

One could use the mutually exclusive option built into every keypadlinc but this works only when manually pressing the respective button. It does not work if the buttons are controlled via program or scene or direct commands from the ISY.

A scene might be more effective, where one would set up one button as a sea controller, and the other button as a scene responder, having an ON level of zero, or off.  EVEN THIS METHOD MIGHT HAVE USED CASES WHERE ONE OF THE BUTTONS IS TURNED ON INDIRECTLY, where the SCENE RELATIONSHIP WOULD NOT BE ENFORCED.

A third option would be using a program or programs such as

if

One button is on

Then

Turn the other button off

A program such as this might be effective in the most number of situations.

 

The approach you take would depend on how you expect to use each of the two keypad buttons.  

 

[Guy Lavoie]

Programs and scenes are the best ways to get the most out of keypadlincs and status indications. The only annoying thing when using programs is the slight delay before seeing the backlight update.

[Javi]

14 hours ago, MTellevik said:

I Apologize if this is in the wrong spot, let me know and I'll repost it correctly.

Newbie question:

I have a 6 Button Keypad Linc 2487S I would like the C and D buttons to be mutually exclusive.

If I press C then C would be on and D would be off

If I press D then D would be on and C woiuld be off.

I know this should be simple but I just cannot get it working. 😡

Check out the 5.x Keypad and Fan scene example https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY994i:INSTEON_Device:FanLinc-KPL_FanLinc_KeypadLinc_Configuration#Firmware_5.x

Scenes will work better than programs and KPL buttons can not be programmatically controlled, they require a scene (insteon limitation). A scene with the KPL button will need to be created to turn it on/off. Programs should only be used for corrections, like the "Note" section after the main scene in the example, as there are no "Wait" conditions.  Sending many Insteon commands rapidly (i.e. from a program) may cause some commands to be dropped by the insteon network, so it may not work as expected without waits in between commands. Although this is even more tricky as "Wait" makes eisy programs act as a "While" instead of "IF" so the program may not finish executing if there is a wait without the main program triggering "Then" on another program.

[apostolakisl]

I have this setup for several KPL, though I did 4 buttons, I use this to control fan speeds.

Create 2 scenes.  One For each button

Add both buttons to each scene.  

 - Button C is controller for Scene C, Button D Controller for Scene D

Set the "on level" for D button to "off" in Scene C, and similarly, set the "on level" for button C to "off" for Scene D

- remember to do this both for the primary scene, and for when the scene is controlled by the button (from the device tree on the left, click on the scene, set the on levels, then click on the other controller for each scene (button c in scened c) and set the on levels there as well. Note: In the device tree on the left, controllers in a scene will be in red letters.

Main Scene Setting On levels

Now for the controller, in this case, fan low.

Finally click on the KPL in the tree on the left, and in the right pane at the bottom, click on "toggle mode", and set button C and D to be "toggle on" only.

 

EDIT:  I should also mention that you will want to add as responders to the scene whatever action you want.  In my case a fan.  Or, if the only thing these buttons are controlling are programs, then just put the status of the button in the "if" part of your program.  We call these "radio buttons", like how old fashioned car radio buttons worked, push one in, the other pops out.  This works when the buttons are controlled by direct press, and it works when the scenes are turned on by other methods, for example, a program, or Alexa, or even another Insteon device (you can add other insteon devices as controllers to the scene if you like, just remember to again set the "on levels" for that controller.  With my fans, I can turn them on from Alexa (via a program) and it sets the buttons correctly.  If I say "Alexa, fan high" for example, it will trigger the fan high scene and the high button turns on and whatever other button that was on turns off.

Edited Tuesday at 03:03 PM by apostolakisl

[MTellevik]

14 hours ago, Techman said:

Can you give a little more information, what would the C & D buttons be controlling?

 

I could go two ways with this. I want to create a program called "away" and have certain lights and actions happen while I'm "Away". The "Home" button would turn off "Away". The Home button woill have a green color and the away will be red.

Or I could have the KPL buttons activate another On/Off Switch.

 

3 hours ago, oberkc said:

One could use the mutually exclusive option built into every keypadlinc but this works only when manually pressing the respective button. It does not work if the buttons are controlled via program or scene or direct commands from the ISY.

Could not figure out how to do this in programing the Keypad.

Edited Tuesday at 02:56 PM by MTellevik
Added second thought.

[MTellevik]

56 minutes ago, Javi said:

Check out the 5.x Keypad and Fan scene example https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY994i:INSTEON_Device:FanLinc-KPL_FanLinc_KeypadLinc_Configuration#Firmware_5.x

 

Thanks, I'll check this out when I get home. 

MT

[oberkc]

1 hour ago, MTellevik said:

Could not figure out how to do this in programing the Keypad.

I am not near my system, but recall the mutually exclusive feature to be found from the admin console, selecting the keypad and, along the bottom of the main window, you should find an “option” button (or similar) where ome can configure which butons are part of the mutual exclusive relationship.

 

[Geddy]

1 hour ago, MTellevik said:

Could not figure out how to do this in programing the Keypad.

@MTellevik from the wiki: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Linking_a_KeypadLinc

There are other pages talking about this too, but I think this is the more current look of the window. Note the warning though about using scenes to handle it. I'm not 100% sure how this is handled in IoX 5.x these days. 

[Javi]

1 hour ago, Geddy said:

@MTellevik from the wiki: https://wiki.universal-devices.com/ISY-99i/ISY-26_INSTEON:Linking_a_KeypadLinc

There are other pages talking about this too, but I think this is the more current look of the window. Note the warning though about using scenes to handle it. I'm not 100% sure how this is handled in IoX 5.x these days. 

I don't recommend this for 5.x. Using scenes, like the fan example, is the recommended way.

[Techman]

@MTellevik

To simplify things, why not have the away button on and lit when you're away, and when you're home the away button is off and unlit.

 

[oberkc]

5 hours ago, Techman said:

@MTellevik

To simplify things, why not have the away button on and lit when you're away, and when you're home the away button is off and unlit.

 

This is how I do it. 
 

despite the warnings, I actually like the mutually exclusive option with keypad buttons. One has to recognize, however, the limitations. It only works if you manually press the affected buttons physically. The relationship is not enforced when you change the state of those buttons via the ISY.

[apostolakisl]

1 hour ago, oberkc said:

This is how I do it. 
 

despite the warnings, I actually like the mutually exclusive option with keypad buttons. One has to recognize, however, the limitations. It only works if you manually press the affected buttons physically. The relationship is not enforced when you change the state of those buttons via the ISY.

The way I outlined above, it always works no matter how you control it.  There are ways you could mess it up and get multiple buttons lit at the same time or off at the same time, but you would have to go out of your way to do that and it would never happen excepting that you did it on purpose.  Like adding the buttons to other scenes as responders.  But why would you do that except to sabotage yourself?  

[MTellevik]

On 7/29/2025 at 2:20 PM, Techman said:

@MTellevik

To simplify things, why not have the away button on and lit when you're away, and when you're home the away button is off and unlit.

 

This sounds like it would be the easiest option. I will start with this.

Might play around with scenes later to see how that would work.

Thanks!