Anyone using Tasker?

[UncleMike]

I've actually got one that I can't figure out...

When someone comes to my apartments, they push a number in the gate keypad, it calls my phone, and I am required to push the number 9 for it to open the gate. I want to make it to where any time I receive a call from that number, it does that process for me.

I just can't seem to find the ability to push the number nine while in a call. Any tips?

The only thing I can think of is to have Tasker answer the call, then use the Music Play action to play a recording of the "9" DTMF tone. Unfortunately, I just tried it and the caller can't hear it at all, with or without speakerphone on.

Scratch that, I tried using the Call action with the number "9", and that didn't work either.

But this I haven't tried (requires that you use Google Voice for your voicemail, but doesn't involve Tasker at all):

Have Android forward calls from this number directly to voicemail. Setup a custom greeting for that number, where the greeting is a recording of the "9" DTMF tone. If it works you may also be able to set it up so that calls from that number can't leave voicemail, so you don't get your voicemail clogged with empty messages.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

I'm not familiar with that profile, but anything listed as a setting (with a cog icon) that is changed directly by the Enter Task, and not referenced in the Exit Task, should be restored automatically when the profile exits. I say "directly" because anything changed in a "sub task" via the Perform Task action is not restored.

You may want to put a Wait action in your task prior to changing the brightness setting. It sounds like Tasker may be changing the brightness before the clock app does, an then the clock app is changing it again.

how do you add a wait -
And can you clairfy putting it back ? I have a few things (car dock, night mode) where I turn off say GPS or Wifi, if I dont add an exit task for them, they will return to the state they were before Tasker changed them? If so that would work out great...cause you know sometimes turning off wifi is fine, but if I drive home, then Id want it back on, but if I am at the movies, not so much. So If itll return to where it was, ill just leave the wifi out of the exit task so itll go back to where it was before...

 

[kriemer]

Are you using Android 2.1 or lower? I ask because in Android 2.2 apps can no longer kill other apps. Taker's help screen says that in Android 2.2+ the Kill App action only stops an application's background services.

I am Telus Canada customer so running v2.1 update 1, we are somewhat conservative in rollout of updates.

Are you suggesting that 2.2 will leave me without a solution to this issue? Or hopefully Froyo will manage memory better so the problem will go away without my Tasker kludge? Or I should avoid the update entirely?

D@mN, I come up with what would appear to be a fix for a problem and it's obsolete.

Also, thanks for the tip.


k

 

[SlvrScoobie]

I'm not familiar with that profile, but anything listed as a setting (with a cog icon) that is changed directly by the Enter Task, and not referenced in the Exit Task, should be restored automatically when the profile exits. I say "directly" because anything changed in a "sub task" via the Perform Task action is not restored.

You may want to put a Wait action in your task prior to changing the brightness setting. It sounds like Tasker may be changing the brightness before the clock app does, an then the clock app is changing it again.

so Im trying to figure this all out, could you clarify the Perform task?
Basically I have a profile night which is set on the state of power, with 10pm-6am as a qualifier.
In the Night task, I have it set the notifications, media volume sound effects (all cogs) set to level 0. Then i have it turn on desk clock, turn off auto brightness, wait 2 seconds, and then set the brightness to 5.
On the exit task, i just have load app - gmail.
So I am hoping that this will turn off all the alerts except for the ringtone, and dim the display. Then when i unplug (or after 8am) itll turn on notifications, media, sound effects, and turn auto brightness back on.
Am I correct?
Or do i need to insert auto brightness to on, notification sounds to 11... all in the exit task to do that.
thanks!

 

[UncleMike]

how do you add a wait -
And can you clairfy putting it back ? I have a few things (car dock, night mode) where I turn off say GPS or Wifi, if I dont add an exit task for them, they will return to the state they were before Tasker changed them? If so that would work out great...cause you know sometimes turning off wifi is fine, but if I drive home, then Id want it back on, but if I am at the movies, not so much. So If itll return to where it was, ill just leave the wifi out of the exit task so itll go back to where it was before...

Edit the task for that profile by tapping on the task in the profiles list. Tap "+" to add an action to your task, then select Tasker > Wait, specify how long to wait (try 5 seconds, but you may need to adjust), then tap Done. Scroll down to the bottom of the task and you should see the Wait action. Tap and hold it until you get the haptic feedback, then drag the Wait action to the position preceding the changes to the display brightness. Then tap Done > Apply.

Anything with cog icon is a setting and will be restored by Tasker without you doing anything. You can override this by setting it the way you want in an Exit Task. If a change in context causes one profile to exit as another one becomes active, and there are conflicting settings in the exit and enter tasks, the enter task settings will take precedence.

 

[UncleMike]

I am Telus Canada customer so running v2.1 update 1, we are somewhat conservative in rollout of updates.

Are you suggesting that 2.2 will leave me without a solution to this issue? Or hopefully Froyo will manage memory better so the problem will go away without my Tasker kludge? Or I should avoid the update entirely?

D@mN, I come up with what would appear to be a fix for a problem and it's obsolete.

Also, thanks for the tip.


k

The way Tasker works right now, updating to 2.2 will cause your fix to stop working. It's possible that it also eliminate the need for your fix, but I don't know. It's also possible that Tasker may work differently by the time an upgrade is available, but I think this is a security issue as far as Android is concerned, and any workaround will probably be squashed in the future.

 

[UncleMike]

so Im trying to figure this all out, could you clarify the Perform task?
Basically I have a profile night which is set on the state of power, with 10pm-6am as a qualifier.
In the Night task, I have it set the notifications, media volume sound effects (all cogs) set to level 0. Then i have it turn on desk clock, turn off auto brightness, wait 2 seconds, and then set the brightness to 5.
On the exit task, i just have load app - gmail.
So I am hoping that this will turn off all the alerts except for the ringtone, and dim the display. Then when i unplug (or after 8am) itll turn on notifications, media, sound effects, and turn auto brightness back on.
Am I correct?
Or do i need to insert auto brightness to on, notification sounds to 11... all in the exit task to do that.
thanks!

Perform Task is an action you can add to a task. It appears under the Tasker category. It can be useful if you have a named task that does some things you want to include in another task without having to replicate the named task. All you have to do is add the Perform Task action, and specify the named task to execute. A side effect of this is that Tasker doesn't keep track of what's referenced in the named task, so it doesn't restore the settings that are changed by that task.

Aside from using the Perform Task action, settings should restore when a profile exits. Chances to the auto brightness won't take effect until the display is turned off and then on again, or the display brightness settings screen is opened in Android. As far as I know, this is an Android issue, not a Tasker issue.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

Ah ok, that sorta out the brightness issue, maybe ill just make it bring that up or figure another way around it - can tasker turn Off the display?

I guess the problem with my profile is that I am using the perform tasks
so i have the 2 contexts for night, power and time, then i have "night" listed - and then i can go to tasker and see the 5 functions it does
since its set that way, i need to reverse those 5 to set it back to the way it was before the profile was set...
gotcha

 

[chrlswltrs]

Ah ok, that sorta out the brightness issue, maybe ill just make it bring that up or figure another way around it - can tasker turn Off the display?

I guess the problem with my profile is that I am using the perform tasks
so i have the 2 contexts for night, power and time, then i have "night" listed - and then i can go to tasker and see the 5 functions it does
since its set that way, i need to reverse those 5 to set it back to the way it was before the profile was set...
gotcha

You shouldn't have to. I have a night profile set up with time, power, and orientation. When the task exits everything is restored - volumes, brightness, etc.

 

[SlvrScoobie]

You shouldn't have to. I have a night profile set up with time, power, and orientation. When the task exits everything is restored - volumes, brightness, etc.

wanna send that to me so i can see how it works

 

[chrlswltrs]

wanna send that to me so i can see how it works

Pm me Monday, got a busy weekend and I'll forget, but yeah I'll send it to you.

 

[kriemer]

Followed Tasker Wiki to toggle off Unlock when connected to AC.

Simple macro, but the problem is it does nothing. Is this no longer a working function. I've tried plugging unplugging, rebooting.


Regards

k

 

[akazabam]

Profile: Home Near
Context: Location <home>
Enter Task:
Variable Set %HomeNear 1
Exit Task:
Variable Subtract %HomeNear 1

Profile: Home Wifi
Context: Variable Value %HomeNear > 0
Context: Wifi Near <home> [toggle wifi]
Enter Task:
Variable Add %HomeNear 1
Wifi On
Exit Task:
Variable Subtract %HomeNear 1

Profile: Wifi Fast Off
Context: Wifi Connected <any>
Exit Task:
Wifi Off

Profile: Reset Variables
Context: Device Shutdown
Variable Clear %HomeNear

I tried this, but wifi won't stay on once it connects if I leave and come back. Basically, if I activate the profiles, wifi turns on, connects, and stays connected. If I leave (even if I stay in the "Home Near" radius) just enough to go out of wifi range, then come back, at the next "Wifi Near" check (I set it to every five minutes), it will enable wifi, connect, then disconnect within about 10 seconds. It keeps doing that every five minutes or until I either manually start wifi or stop/start tasker. Did I set it up wrong?

 

[SlvrScoobie]

Anyone know why turning on the desk clock doesnt work? I can make other clocks turn on, but the "desk clock" doesnt work, does it need to be docked to run?
Also, when i run the other clock i have (apparently from 'droid 1.6) will NOT low its brightness from Tasker...I can click the sun icon and lower it manually, but I cant make tasker do it. Even with a 10 second wait, and disable the safety, it will lower momentarily, but jumps right back to "full"

 

[Brian Rubin]

I tried using Tasker to turn on the GPS when accessing a specific program, then turn it off when done, to save the battery. Sadly it never worked right with Google Navigation, so I stopped using it. *sadface*

 

[UncleMike]

Followed Tasker Wiki to toggle off Unlock when connected to AC.

Simple macro, but the problem is it does nothing. Is this no longer a working function. I've tried plugging unplugging, rebooting.


Regards

k

I haven't downloaded the profiles, but what's written on that page sounds like it should work. What exactly is happening? Does the profile never become active? Does the profile become active but the tasks don't run?

 

[UncleMike]

I tried this, but wifi won't stay on once it connects if I leave and come back. Basically, if I activate the profiles, wifi turns on, connects, and stays connected. If I leave (even if I stay in the "Home Near" radius) just enough to go out of wifi range, then come back, at the next "Wifi Near" check (I set it to every five minutes), it will enable wifi, connect, then disconnect within about 10 seconds. It keeps doing that every five minutes or until I either manually start wifi or stop/start tasker. Did I set it up wrong?

I think everything looks fine. Wifi Near is kind of sticky - it takes a couple of cycles before accepting the fact the the Wifi is no longer near. Is it possible that you're leaving and returning so quickly that Tasker doesn't realize that you ever left? If this is the case, the profile is never exiting, and therefore never activating when you return because Tasker thinks it's still active. The easiest fix would be to eliminate (or disable) the Wifi Fast Off profile.

 

[UncleMike]

I tried using Tasker to turn on the GPS when accessing a specific program, then turn it off when done, to save the battery. Sadly it never worked right with Google Navigation, so I stopped using it. *sadface*

The problem is that Google Maps is loading and checking the status of GPS before Tasker can realize that Google Maps is loaded. A solution to this is to create a widget that turns on GPS, then loads Maps a second or two later. I you then create a profile with an Application context for Maps, with an Exit Task that turns off GPS (and no Enter Task), GPS should turn off when you exit Maps.

 

[kriemer]

I haven't downloaded the profiles, but what's written on that page sounds like it should work. What exactly is happening? Does the profile never become active? Does the profile become active but the tasks don't run?

Uncle Mike;

It took a reboot, and then another reboot to get it to work. Clearly it was me not Tasker at fault.

Apologies for wasting your time reading my drivel.


k

 

[Brian Rubin]

The problem is that Google Maps is loading and checking the status of GPS before Tasker can realize that Google Maps is loaded. A solution to this is to create a widget that turns on GPS, then loads Maps a second or two later. I you then create a profile with an Application context for Maps, with an Exit Task that turns off GPS (and no Enter Task), GPS should turn off when you exit Maps.

Oohhhh, okay, I'll try that, thank you.

 

[akazabam]

I think everything looks fine. Wifi Near is kind of sticky - it takes a couple of cycles before accepting the fact the the Wifi is no longer near. Is it possible that you're leaving and returning so quickly that Tasker doesn't realize that you ever left? If this is the case, the profile is never exiting, and therefore never activating when you return because Tasker thinks it's still active. The easiest fix would be to eliminate (or disable) the Wifi Fast Off profile.

Should the Home Wifi profile still be active after I disconnect from wifi? It seems to stay active for as long as I'm in Home Near range. I went ahead and disabled fast off, and even disconnected manually. When I went back in wifi range, it still did the whole connect, wait ten seconds, disconnect every cycle.

 

[cazimmy]

To do vibrate THEN ring, you would have to have a profile that actually changes the settings while the phone is ringing. You can do this by enabling the following profile:

Profile: Escalert (I think that name was stuck in my head from my Startac days)
Context: Incoming Call
Silent Mode Vibrate
Vibrate on Ringer On
Wait 4 seconds
Silent Mode Off

After the call, the settings will automatically be restored to their previous values.

I don't know anything about interacting with Touchdown.

The Tasker notification will only show active profiles. As part of each task that sets your ringer profile settings, you can add you own notification using the Notify action. In order to make it easy to clear prior volume profile notifications I would recommend keeping the same title (so the new notification will replace the old one, but change the icon and/or text).

Thanks!

 

[PhilosoRaptor]

For car docking I did this.

1. In the main screen hit "Tasks" and set up a new task. Hit settings and change from "execute" to "menu". Then hit the plus sign to add an action, then "misc" "load app" then select the app you want to display after Pandora has loaded. If you want maps and navigation, add those two.

2. Go back to the main screen of Tasker and start a new profile, I called mine "In The Car" and "Car Dock" (to name them, once you added everything you wanted, tap the context area, tap profile and a drop down menu should expand and then just hit name). I made two seperate profiles because it allows more flexibility with the contexts you create. Once you use it more, you will see. For "Car Dock" hit "new" in the bottom and you want to the context to be "state" then select "docked" and make sure you select "car". Then for your tasks you hit the plus sign again and add "audio", "ringer volume" and set it for whatever you want. Then repeat but instead select "media volume". Then add another action within this task "display" "keyguard" and select off. This only really helps if you ever use car dock without being plugged in. Last thing is add another action "misc" "load app" and select Pandora. Hit "done" to save.

3. Hit the right side of that profile in the main screen and select "add exit task". Then the same way you added apps before, just select "kill app" instead of "load app". I do the same for maps in case I was running it so that it will automatically kill it when I take it out of the dock.

4. Now you are going to start the profile "In the Car". Your context will be "state" "docked" and just select car again. First action is "misc" "load app" and then select Pandora. Then your next action is "tasker" "wait" then select 8 seconds. This gives Pandora a chance to load before it prompts you to run Maps and Navigation. Then start another action "tasker" "perform task" and you will see a box that says "long-click" do that and the task you created earlier should be there. From there just hit done and then you want to tap the context area of this profile. Select "add" then hit "state" and select "power" I left it on "any". Then just hit apply and you should be done.

Test it out and let me know how it works for you. I have tweaked mine since then but this should be a good basic start.

Ok, I wanted to do this, so I followed his directions to a "T". Everything works except Tasker won't run the task I made to prompt a menu for navigation (in step one). It runs the task fine when I have the task open in Tasker and "test" it with the test button, but when I run the Pandora task (that I created in step 4) and it gets to the step to perform my navigation task, I get an error that says this:

"Error

Task doesn't Exist: Navigation" ("Navigation" is the name of the task I made to prompt a menu for navigation or maps).

I have a couple of questions about your directions too;

Why do you have to create 2 diff profiles where they both open Pandora when docked (steps 2 & 4)? Wouldn't that try to make 2 instances of Pandora open or run it twice? I don't know why you wouldn't just add the "Wait" 8 secs and "perform task" for navigation in the same profile you made in step 2..?

Also, I think whenever you say "Misc", you mean "App", because there's no "Load App" option in "Misc", right?

If anyone has this exact setup, or if OP is still lurking in this thread anymore, could you export and share your .xml file for this task for me to try out?

Thanks for anyone who can help me fix this!

 

[UncleMike]

Should the Home Wifi profile still be active after I disconnect from wifi? It seems to stay active for as long as I'm in Home Near range. I went ahead and disabled fast off, and even disconnected manually. When I went back in wifi range, it still did the whole connect, wait ten seconds, disconnect every cycle.

A Wifi Near context will remain active for up to 2 scan cycles in order to avoid bouncing between active and inactive when you're near the edge of the covered area. If you go out of range, and Wifi is turned off (either manually or programmatically), and return while the profile is still active, the profile won't reactivate.

 

[akazabam]

A Wifi Near context will remain active for up to 2 scan cycles in order to avoid bouncing between active and inactive when you're near the edge of the covered area. If you go out of range, and Wifi is turned off (either manually or programmatically), and return while the profile is still active, the profile won't reactivate.

Ok, I got it working. It was my fault; I didn't fully grasp how Wifi Near works, especially when wifi is manually disconnected. It works great now. I think I'll just disable the quick wifi disconnect, like you suggested. Thanks!