Control4 releases 'snapshot' driver

[Cyknight]

Figured a few DIY programmers on here would be interested to know this

 

 

Control4 is pleased to announce the availability of a Snapshot driver.

This driver is designed to aid the dealer in Custom Programming. The driver internally stores details of the settings of chosen lights, blinds, thermostats and entertainment. It is then able to recall these settings at a later time.

When a particular event occurs you may wish to set lighting, blinds or entertainment to particular settings. When the event clears you then need to reset all those elements to their previous settings.

This driver makes that once onerous process very simple.

 

[control4user007]

Emailed my dealer to add it into my system!  Sounds pretty neat!  Thanks for letting us know!

[Cyknight]

Small note - One driver per snapshot - ie the driver set what devices you want to take a snapshot on, that part is not dynamically set in programming.

 

So if you want a 'snapshot' of all the TVs for a doorbell announcement but NOT include the lights, that's one driver instance. If you want another 'snapshot' of all your lights for Halloween programming....

 

I do not know all the details of this thing yet (limitations, ability for end-user to work with these or to what degree etc - I'm too swamped to delve too deeply at the moment.

[ILoveC4]

Nice! I'm excited to implement this and clean up some programming.

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[jfh]

Where can I find the documentation on how to use it? I have the driver installed, but there is nothing under the documentation tab

[ILoveC4]

Where can I find the documentation on how to use it? I have the driver installed, but there is nothing under the documentation tab[/quote

There's a ton of documentation on the documentation tab. That's where I found how to use it.

I might add that this is a fantastic driver. I was doing this before, but using so many variables. It was a nightmare. This is a snap.

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[digitaltrader]

Where can I find the documentation on how to use it? I have the driver installed, but there is nothing under the documentation tab[/quote

There's a ton of documentation on the documentation tab. That's where I found how to use it.

I might add that this is a fantastic driver. I was doing this before, but using so many variables. It was a nightmare. This is a snap.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Could you share an example use scenario?

[ILoveC4]

ame="DanH" post="150014" timestamp="1434905726"]

Could you share an example use scenario?

Doorbell rings, if the TV is on, pause the current video source and switch to the front porch camera. Upon button press, go back to previous source and resume watching.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jfh]

There's a ton of documentation on the documentation tab. That's where I found how to use it.

Using HE, I see nothing under the documentation tab. Is the doc available anywhere else? If not, I would appreciate it if someone could copy and PM it to me.

[jfh]

Doorbell rings, if the TV is on, pause the current video source and switch to the front porch camera. Upon button press, go back to previous source and resume watching.

This is EXACTLY what I want to do with Snapshot!

[rek]

Using HE, I see nothing under the documentation tab. Is the doc available anywhere else? If not, I would appreciate it if someone could copy and PM it to me.

 

I have the same issue.  My dealer installed the Snapshot driver for me when he upgraded to 2.8 but under HE, the Documentation tab is empty.  Does anyone have the Snapshot documentation they can point me to?  Thanks. 

[South Africa C4 user]

I don't have the documentation but I set some snapshot instance up with my dealer a month or two back and it was very easy. Choose the items you want a specific instance of the driver to take the snapshots of and then you have two actions - essentially take the snapshot or revert to the snapshot.

[AHA]

SNAPSHOT DRIVER

 

This driver is designed to aid the dealer in Custom Programming.  The driver internally stores details of the settings of chosen lights, blinds, thermostats and entertainment.  It is then able to recall these settings at a later time.
When a particular event occurs you may wish to set lighting, blinds or entertainment to particular settings.  When the event clears you then need to reset all those elements to their previous settings.  This driver makes that once onerous process very simple.

 

 

PROPERTIES
 

Lights - The driver will capture the current levels of any lights you select.  These can be Light V1, Light V2 or Outlet switched or dimmed lights from any manufacturer.  Lights will be set (as opposed to ramped) to their original levels when the snapshot is recalled.
 

Blinds - The driver will capture the Open or Closed (but not a particular level) of any blinds selected here.
 

Thermostats - The driver will capture the HVAC mode, Fan mode, Hold mode, Humidity mode and all associated set points.  It will work with Thermostat V1 or Thermostat V2 drivers.  When the snapshot is recalled it will reset all these elements on the thermostat.  Note that it cannot reset a ‘Hold Until’ Date and Time as it is not currently possible to capture that information.
 

Rooms - The driver will capture the current Audio or Video device from the selected rooms.  When the snapshot is captured there is the option to send a PAUSE command to the currently selected device and a PLAY command when the snapshot is recalled.  Note that the recall will only select the device in the room and optionally send the PLAY command.  It does not recall channels, tracks or other media.

NOTE:  The driver cannot restore the playback of Digital Media streams such as My Music, Tune In or Rhapsody.
 

ACTIONS - For testing purposes there are actions to Take and Recall the Snapshot.
 

CUSTOM PROGRAMMING - There are two Device Specific Commands; one to TAKE the Snapshot and the other to RECALL the Snapshot.
 

USING MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF THE DRIVER - There is no issue with using multiple instances of the driver in the project.  All snapshot details are stored internally in each driver.
 

PERSISTENCE - The driver persists the snapshot data across a controller reboot.
 

 

PROGRAMMING EXAMPLE
A good use for this driver is to react to an intruder alarm event.  You can use it to take a snapshot of the house before setting an ‘intruder scene’ to alert neighbors and further disturb the intruder.

 

The basic outline is when an alarm starts is to take a snapshot and then set the intruder scene.  Then when the alarm clears or the system is disarmed recall the snapshot to reset all the lighting and blinds back to their original state.

 

For your intruder scene you should consider adding the following elements:

 

For exterior lights add a flash option in the advanced lighting scene as that will draw attention to the property

 

Don’t illuminate all the lights immediately as this may create an excessive load on the incoming electrical supply. Also turning lights on over a minute or so will further confuse an intruder.

 

Repeat illuminating lights in key rooms every few minutes.  So if the intruder turns off the lights then the scene will turn them back on again.

If the property has curtains or blinds then open them to further draw attention to the property.

 

CHANGELOG
November 2015 – 105
Added ability to set fade time for lighting recall.
Added ability to select a channel on a recalled video device.
September 2015 – 1.0.4
Added fan support.
September 2015 – 1.0.2
Internal code change
August 2015 – 1.0.1
Corrected data persistence issue
June 2015 – 1.0.0
Initial Release

[rek]

Thank you much!

[ERDrPC]

Sorry for bring up an old thread. I'm trying to figure out the snapshot driver. I want to capture the state of the TV in two rooms prior to a doorbird activation. My dealer has a snapshot setup already for this purpose but it is taking a snapshot in my equipment room which is neither of the rooms I'm trying to capture the source in. I need to run another instance of the driver for the two rooms and have no idea where to find it to program it or add it. 

Any help would be appreciated

[sonic30101]

they probably put it in the rack room by accident in system design. also they will have to install the second instance for you to trigger though you can select multiple rooms with each instance but I dont know your desired end result

[Matt Lowe]

On 7/7/2017 at 5:33 PM, ERDrPC said:

Sorry for bring up an old thread. I'm trying to figure out the snapshot driver. I want to capture the state of the TV in two rooms prior to a doorbird activation. My dealer has a snapshot setup already for this purpose but it is taking a snapshot in my equipment room which is neither of the rooms I'm trying to capture the source in. I need to run another instance of the driver for the two rooms and have no idea where to find it to program it or add it. 

Any help would be appreciated

yea the room that it is in. but there are driver properties that allow you to chose the devices and rooms that you want to snap shot. you will find that in the monitor.