Extend Timer Device with Countdown Option

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Hi,
I’m using multiple Timer Devices and I’m very happy with this device type, but it would be a good enhancement to have a countdown option. So is it possible to implement a option to let the timer run as a countdown timer. Perhaps just as option which can be set in the configuration.

• resulution
• stoptime (can also be used as stop while counting up)
• countdown (checkbox to count down the stoptime ☑)

Thanks

• Resolution is allready implemented.

• Setting the time seems to be a missing feature.
  E.g. I would like to setup a new timer for an operation hour counter and would start with an inital value greater zero.
  a)Editing device attributes in Variables would help but is not implemented yet.
  b)More comfortable would be to set it in device editor.
  c)Setting time attribute in rules is also not yet possible. (e.g. ‘set time of timer = 42’ )

• An option for count down is also desirable.

@Heizelmann said in Extend Timer Device with Countdown Option:

Setting the time seems to be a missing feature.
E.g. I would like to setup a new timer for an operation hour counter and would start with an inital value greater zero.
a)Editing device attributes in Variables would help but is not implemented yet.
b)More comfortable would be to set it in device editor.
c)Setting time attribute in rules is also not yet possible. (e.g. ‘set time of timer = 42’ )

An option for count down is also desirable.

I would like to add another feature request:

• the timer should continue running when pimatic server or system has been stopped (Currently I use a workaround of a complete timer by a buttons device, a couple of rules, and the date(“u”) expression function, but integrating this into the timer device would be more comfortable.)

I’ve managed to create a countdown timer with a couple of rules, variables and a variables device to display the actual countdown time.

What I did was:

1: create 2 variables: $timer and $timertemp
2: create a variables device with $timer
3: create a buttons device to set the timer (I’ve used fixed values of 60 minutes, 120 minutes and so on)
4: create (at least) 2 rules:

 Rule 1: "when 60 minutes is pressed 
 then set $timer to 59 and set $timertemp to 
 $system-time.time" 

  Rule 2: "when $timertemp gets updated 
  and $timer is not 0 then set $timer to ($timer 
  -1) after 1 minute and set $timertemp to 
  $system-time.time after 1 minute"

Rule 1 will set the initial timer value and sets $timertemp to the actual time, this is used to make the update after every minute work. Could be any variable that automatically changes into a new unique value.

Rule 2 then checks every minute if $timertemp gets updated. If so, and if the actual answer of $timer-1 is not 0 it will update the value of $timer untill it gets to 0.

I’m pretty sure this can be done even simpler than how I’ve created this but it fits my needs.

@djmvt Thanks for that workaround. My configuration is full of those. Makes things not easy. The general goal should be to make pimatic not only powerfull but userfriendly. In my opinion a timer countdown option is essential and should be implemented.

@heizelmann true! But for the time being this is the best I could think of

@djmvt I am glad that you agree. Why not upvoting this feature request? For the future of Pimatic it is important to improve the core.