Creating A Macro

Questions

How do I Create a Macro in Activehome Pro?

Answer

To create a new macro, click on the (+) button on the Macros bar in the Folder pane. You can also add a macro from the Edit menu, or by right-clicking in a room and choosing "Add Macro" from the pop-up menu. When you create a new macro, you start in a blank macro Editor window.

You can follow this example yourself by opening the "Samples" file using the File Menu. This macro is designed to start the coffee pot and turn on the lights in the kitchen to get ready for breakfast. When you make a macro like this, you can activate it using a remote control, or set a timer so the events happen exactly when you want them to--even before you get out of bed!

Step 1: Macro Information

First, name your macro. Click into the Macro Name box, and type a new name. In this example, the macro will be called "Breakfast."

At this point you can also select the macro�s trigger (remote command you use to start it), but ActiveHome will assign one automatically, which is usually fine.

Next, select the room in which you want this macro to appear. A macro can operate modules in more than one room, but it will appear in the Room View for only one room. Our Breakfast macro will be in the kitchen. Now we can start adding modules.

Step 2: Add the First Command

To add a command to a macro, drag the module you want to use from the available modules on the right-hand side of the screen.

You can view modules from any or all of the rooms by using the drop down menu to select them. By dragging the coffee pot module to the macro, turning it on will be the first event.

Step 3: Use a Delay

When you use macros, not everything has to happen at the same time. You can use delays to spread out the events of your macro.

For the next event to occur 10 minutes after the coffee pot turns on, we will drag a delay into the macro, and change its time.

Step 4: Dim and Bright

Different kinds of modules use different types of commands in macros. If you add an appliance module, SuperSocket, or other module that cannot be dimmed, you only have the option of turning it On or Off.

If you add a lamp module or other dimmable module to your macro, you have two different options. If you use "Set to," ActiveHome Pro will turn your module on to full brightness, then dim it to the selected level. If you use "Adjust by," ActiveHome Pro will just tell your module to dim or brighten, which only works if the module is already on.

Here we will set the Small Light to turn on to 70 percent.

Step 5: Extending Over Time

One benefit to macros is using them to turn a set of lights on, then turn them off automatically at a specified time. For example, if we add another time delay to the macro, we can wait an hour before turning everything off.

Step 6: Room Controls

In addition to individual modules, you can use room modules and House Code modules in your macros to make it easy to turn on or off more than one device or "room." For example, you can create a Kitchen module with all your modules in the kitchen placed into the macro. Then you can turn everything in the kitchen off at the same time.

Important Note

To run macros from remotes or motion sensors, you must make sure ActiveHome Pro is set up to receive their signals. Please see the Troubleshooting_Remote_Controls_in_ActiveHome_Pro article.

Finishing Up

Now we have a working macro! Your macro is automatically saved. The Macro Timeline shows you all of the commands in your macro, and tells you how long it will take to complete.

If you are done with your macro, then you can go back to the room view or make a new macro. In addition to following the visual timeline, you can read the text box at the bottom of the Editor window to see what is happening with your macros.