3.28Action Button

The Action Button runs one command each time it is tapped. The command is chosen in a library of system commands. Among the commands that do something in the apps are writing a fixed value to a KNX group address, jumping to another page, and the screen commands that open a popup, hide an object or a page, or colour the header.

#When to use it

• A "Back to home" or "Go to cameras" button that opens a specific page.
• A one-shot KNX write that needs a fixed value: send 1 to open a gate relay, send 50 to a scaling address, send a text to a display.
• Not for on/off control with live feedback: use a Switch. For a button that also shows the state of a value, use a State Action.

#What you need first

• For a KNX write: a group address and the KNX engine enabled on the gateway.
• For a page jump: at least one panel with a page in the project.

#Properties

Label, Show Label, Label Position, Text Style, Access Control and the Width, Height, Position X, Position Y, Size %, Rotation, Mirror, Image Fitting and Image Display fields work as described in Common properties. A new Action Button is 56 by 56 and starts with the command Open Panel/Page on Every Client and the built-in action icon.

#Action Button settings

#The command library

Edit opens a window with the list System on the left, grouped by category, and the Parameters of the selected command on the right. Picking a KNX command also sets the object's protocol to KNX; all others set it to Internal.

For Open Panel/Page on Every Client and Open Panel/Page on One Client the parameters are:

• A panel with no pages. New objects can only be added to a page, so a panel normally has at least one. A panel from an older project that has no pages still works: choose only the Function and the button opens the panel itself.
• What the window shows is what is kept. A new Action Button starts with this command. The window shows the first panel in the list, with its first page, and those are saved as soon as you open the window, even if you do not change anything. A button that was saved with no panel and no page opens the first panel, the one on the far left of the header (usually the dashboard), so a "Dashboard" button needs no further setting.

For the screen commands the popupId, pageId, objectId and userId parameters are lists of what the project contains. The soundId parameter is a list of the sounds. The clientId of a client command is the device id of the app, shown in the gateway console's Clients tab. For every other command the parameters are plain text boxes named after the parameter, except groupAddress (a KNX address box with autocomplete), and for the two Network I/O commands that take an id (a list of the inputs or outputs configured in the Network I/O Gateway).

What actually runs

"Not executed" means the command can be chosen and is saved in the project, but the Veltnova client does nothing with it when the button is tapped. The command categories in the library are KNX Actions, Navigation & Popups, Visibility Rules, Header Alerts, Notifications, Client Device Actions, SIP / Intercom, Audio Alerts, Screen Backlight, Voice Messaging and Network I/O.

#How it behaves in the apps

• KNX write commands: the app sends the write to the gateway, which puts the telegram on the KNX bus. The value is taken from the value parameter; if it is empty, 1 is sent. The group address is the groupAddress parameter. If it is empty, the app shows "Set a KNX group address for ..." and sends nothing. You must be signed in; if the session has expired the app asks you to sign in again.
• Page jump: the app switches to the chosen page and does nothing else.
• Screen commands: the gateway checks the command (the popup, page, object or user must exist in the deployed project) and sends it to the apps. What a command hides or colours lasts until the app is restarted; the apps do not share it later. An app that is not connected at that moment does not receive it. You must be allowed to use the button (its Access Control).
• A button with no command, or with a command from the "Not executed" rows, does nothing when tapped.
• In Image mode the Veltnova client shows the icon with the Extra Text underneath. In Text mode it shows only the text, sized from Font Size under Text Style.
• The Veltnova client does not apply Rotation or Mirror to this object.

#Example

A gate-open button that sends 1 to a relay group address:

1. Add an Action Button. Set Label to Gate open button.
2. Click Edit next to Command. Under KNX Actions, choose Write KNX Bit (DPT 1).
3. Set groupAddress to 2/0/5 and value to 1. Click OK.
4. Type: Image. Image: choose a gate icon from the gallery.
5. Extra Text: Open gate.
6. Deploy, tap the button in the app, and check the gateway console's Monitor tab for 2/0/5 receiving 1.

For a button that returns to a dashboard page, choose Open Panel/Page on Every Client, set Function to the panel and Page to Home.

#Tips and common problems

• A KNX write that must be released (momentary press and release, or an on then off pulse) is not possible with one Action Button, because it sends one write per tap. Use a Switch with a press and release Switching Type, or do the timing in a KNX actuator.
• If the command list offers something that has no effect, check the table above before debugging the gateway.
• The button shows no text: fill in Extra Text. The Label is not displayed on an Action Button.
• After you delete or rebuild panels, re-open Edit on page jump buttons and pick the page again, so the button points at a page that still exists.

#See also

• Switch
• State Action
• Scene
• Common properties
• KNX basics