I’ve made something wrong on my Somfy window covering (RFXtrx controler) : in the device advanced settings, I have changed the device_file name (from D_WindowCovering1.xml to D_SomfyBlinds.xml) and also the device_json name (from D_WindowCovering1.json to D_SomfyBlinds.json).
The result is that all my devices (including garage door and portal) have disappeared from the devices list (in Vera web interface).
I’m using WinSCP to access to the VERA files but I would like to know where are the devices files (I specify devices, not xml or json files for devices categories). And more simply how to recover my devices ?
Changing the device file name and the device JSON file name should not cause all of your devices to disappear. Did you upload the new files before making the change in your Somfy device settings? It’s also possible that your changes have caused the RFXtrx plugin to fail. Looking at the Vera log may help locate the problem.
There is a workaround. before you go manually edit the user_data.json which contains the device attributes and settings. (It is in /etc/cmh)
Install ALTUI. ALTUI will show you the problem devices with a problem.
@tinman is correct though, you likely corrupted/deleted the json or xml for the disappeared devices but you should still be able to see them with ALTUI and change the device file and device json from there. If you have a backup I would also encourage you to restore from it.
Tinman was right (rafale77 also), the problem is from RFXtrx controller.
I had installed the 2 Somfy plugins available in the store, I wanted to change the Window Covering choice when adding a RFY device (it’s the only choice I have, but the interface is not axactly what I need : my corverings need only 3 buttons (UP, STOP and DOWN), but there is not this option, the device created has 2 more buttons (OPEN and CLOSE) and a cursor (seekbar). I would like to have only 3 buttons.
I tried to add new device RFY but still have only 1 choice : window covering. After that, I tried to change in the Somfy device’s advanced settings the xml and json files name, and then all the RFX devices had disappeared.
All the Somfy automatisms (coverings, garage door, portal, and light switch), and also all the Oregon sensors (temp and hum) were removed. But RFXtrx controller had automatically created new Oregon devices (without room and with default names).
So I need now to recreate devices for my Somfy automatisms.
Now my questions are : how to add new profils for an RFY device (1 with 3 buttons, and 1 with only 1 button) ? Can I use another category (for instance Bliss instead of RFY) ? or do I have to change the RFXtrx controller ? Where are the new devices created ? (is it in the RFXtrx controller xml file ?
PS : rafale77 is right, next time I will backup before trying to change something !
I thought that I could just create copies of D_WindowCovering1.xml and D_WindowCovering1.json, delete the items that create the controls you don’t want, save them as D_WindowCovering2.xml and D_WindowCovering2.json, upload them to the hub and then change the Somfy device settings to point to these modified files, and reload the hub and the web page. But that didn’t work. On the devices page the Somfy device would display only the Open and Close buttons and the actual Somfy device page (“Control”) would show only the Up, Down, and Stop buttons - which is what you want. But this is not really an acceptable solution. I assume the displayed buttons would function properly but since I don’t have any actual Somfy devices I can’t test them. Vera may do things based upon the device type urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:device:WindowCovering:1. I’d have to modify the plugin code to handle a new device type which doesn’t seem practical to merely eliminate controls that you don’t want to have available.
I’m not sure Vera will change something. That’s why I wanted to know how to create new services and categories. Anyway, the interface is working (open, close, up, stop, and down buttons operate normally, only the cursor is not working) the interface is just too big for only 3 buttons needed ! For the garage door and portal automatisms, I just need 1 push button…
Do you know who has developed the RFXtrx controller ? so I can ask some help ?
Yes, I took over support for the RFXtrx plugin a couple of years ago when the previous developer announced ending his support. The size of the device interface is really determined by Vera code - not by the plugin; at least for devices with device definition files provided by Vera.
I’m just a Java developer, but if you need help, I can make some work with you. And I can test with my Somfy devices. I can also contact Vera support to get some help also.
I built a couple of device files (mainly for fun) and the problem is that Vera decides to look for device_type (urn:schemas-micasaverde-com:device:WindowCovering:1) instead of device_file for most common scenario.
So, if you change your implementation, you will “fix” it only for the web interface, mobile apps will continue to render static templates based on device_type.
My experience is that mobile rendering is hard coded and based on combination of device_file and/or category_num. So, you will always get mixed results. That’s why I usually create scenes instead of taking time to understand what’s behind the choices.
