What's new in HouseBot (Watch this topic for updates)

[ScottBot]

This post is a placeholder for general HouseBot announcements that you might find useful. New messages will be posted here when new plugins are available or when a new version of HouseBot is ready. The posts will detail what is new.

To be automatically notified of the updates, simply click the "Subscribe topic" link at the bottom of this page.

[ScottBot]

Version 2.31 has just been released and is available for download now.

The majority of the changes in this version were to remedy some long-standing issues and give the first 'real' update in about two years. There are also a few new features, but nothing significant. For a full list of changes in this version, see the read-me file included in the release.

[ScottBot]

See this for more info.

[ScottBot]

Version 3 has is now available. See this post for more information.

[ScottBot]

There were a couple of issues that were caught in the initial 3.00 version that have been resolved in the latest maintenance release. You can download the maintenance release from the web site (version 3.00.01).

Item that were addressed are:

• Program fault when dynamic properties were accessed. Noticed mostly in the TV Listing and Playlist Manager Devices.
• X10 RF and power-line echo issues. This was resolved by adding a feature where Hardware Interfaces can restrict their notification messages. See the Restricted Notifications topic of the Hardware Interfaces page in the HouseBot on-line help for more information.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.01 is now available for download. Changes in this version include:
HouseBot Server Changes:

• New: Password protect server.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where modifying an item in a Panel exit list crashes server.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where duplicating a property label twice would create static labels instead of property labels.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where color adjust and transparent colors were not getting applied to a background when selecting new background image.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where Panel scroll bars may not provide enough scrolling to move to the end of the panel or even clip the panel tab-bar.
• Theme Editor: New: Controls that are placed outside the panel area can now be selected and moved back into the panel.
• Resolved issue where pressing cancel on Property Value substitution dialog would insert empty macro in Task Action value field.

Software Remote Changes:

• New: Windows CE 5.0 SWRemote
• New: HP/C Pro 2.11 SH3 SWRemote
• Resolved issue where new theme files were always getting downloaded to the SWRemote.
• Resolved issue when multiple SWRemotes were accessing the same file.
• Resolved issue where background images were sometimes shown as black.

Plugin Changes:

• Script Device: GetPropertyValue() and SetPropertyValue() script commands no longer require device name when referencing the current device context of the script Device.
• Insteon Devices: Resolved issue where Insteon Device dim level was not set correctly according to the Power State.
• New: support for Global Cache GC-IRE.
• GC-100: New: Added support for the Global Cache GC-100 to use the GC-IRE.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.02 is now available for download. Changes in this version include:

Important: A change made to the X10 Controller Device may cause existing configurations to no longer function correctly. The X10 Controller Device now has a “Received Composite Property” Property in addition to the old “Composite Property”. The new property contains information about X10 commands received, whereas the old Composite Property is NOW only for sending X10 commands. Any existing configurations that expect the “Composite Property” to contain received X10 will need to be reconfigured to use the new “Received Composite Property” Property for received commands.

Specific changes are listed below.

HouseBot Server Changes:

• Resolved issue where property value substitution fails sometimes for time/date property values.
• Resolved issue where pressing cancel on the settings dialog would sometimes crash the server.
• Theme Editor: Unselecting the Device selection in the list control double-click option is now possible.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where property tabs were not initializing to same tab name when switching between panels.
• Theme Editor: Resolved issue where Mode button did not allow changes to the color adjust color.
• Resolved issue where changing the server startup type in the configuration dialog was not actually making the change.
• Resolved issue where the time values in the System Time Device would sometimes drift and fall behind the actual time of the computer.
• Resolved issues where Date type property values would sometimes not properly assign to other values.

Software Remote Changes:

• New: Sizeable Button and Indicator controls.
• New: Control mask image for color adjustments.
• New: Slider, Gauges, and Dials now allow color adjust on both images that make up the full control. Important: This change will effect the default color adjust colors configured for existing slider, gauge, and dial controls. Color adjust colors may need to be updated.
• New: Option to increase the controls transparency.
• New: Option to change sliders by just clicking on the desired location on the slider background.
• New: Option for sliders and dials to send property value changes as the control is being adjusted (instead of waiting for the button to be released on the drag).
• New: Dial control will no longer wrap from the min to max (and max to min).
• Resolved issue where popup panel would not close if closed from the server when the server is minimized.

Plugin Changes:

• Resolved issue where X10 Unit codes received by Ocelot were sometimes reported incorrectly.
• New: Support for the Insteon PowerLinc Modem (PLM)
• X10 Controller now has new “Received Composite Property”.
• New: Module Parameter, Variable, and Timer Devices now supported by Ocelot hardware interface.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.02 supports a new feature (overlay mask) for button and indicator controls. Although it is explained to some degree in the online help, there is a new Skin that uses masks. This new skin should only be used for HouseBot version 3.02 (or newer) because it uses button scaling and control image masks that are designed for HouseBot 3.02.

You can download the new Skin from the download page in the "Skins" section, or click here.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.02.01 is now available for download. This is a maintenance release resolving some minor issues found in 3.02.
Changes in this version include:

HouseBot Server Changes:

• Resolved issue where it was possible to create duplicate Group names.
• Resolved issue when changing a property value with a property value button using a substitution string would crash the server.
• Resolved issue that would corrupt time and timespan values when moved up/down or duplicated in a Task.
• Resolved issue when calling SetModeState in VBScript from a Task would use the inverted state.

Software Remote Changes:

• Resolved issue where enlarged buttons with color adjust set and NO transparent color set would cause the button not to display correctly.

Plugin Changes:

• Corrected labels for Front and Right zones in USB UIRT configuration.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.10 is now available for download. The majority of enhancements in this release are to expand the existing Z-Wave support in HouseBot.
Changes in this version include:

HouseBot Server Changes:

• Resolved issue where nested group names were sometimes not created correctly.
• Resolved issue where 'Allow Same Value Changes' was only used when changes were made from the HouseBot server user interface. This setting is now used for everything, including changes from Tasks and Devices. Important Note: This change may affect the behavior of existing configurations. If unwanted behavioral changes are noticed, be sure to suspect this change and examine the Device Properties that are in question to make sure this setting is set correctly.
• Resolved issue where Property Value substitution in Tasks with negative number would not property perform the replacement.
• Resolved Theme import problem when duplicate Themes were encountered. Resolution now renames imported Theme definition file if needed to prevent it from overwriting existing Themes.
• Resolved issue when removing text overlay from image control in Theme editor. Overlay text now clears when removed from the property window.
• Resolved issue where Task running script device would sometimes hang the server.
• Resolved issue where some colors/pixels would be transparent for control images that were NOT using transparency in the Theme editor.

Software Remote Changes:

• Resolved issue where some colors/pixels would be transparent for control images that were NOT using transparency.

Plugin Changes:

• Fixed logic for Ocelot Timer and Variable Devices to work correctly with the latest Ocelot firmware.
• Resolved issue in the Girder Bridge Device when running under Vista.
• Added support for Girder version 5 to the Girder Bridge Device.
• New Z-Wave Devices
  • Thermostat Device
  • Configuration Parameter Device
  • Motion Sensor Device
  • Multilevel Sensor Device
  • Motor/Blind controller
• New Z-Wave Hardware Interfaces
  • Intermatic HA22
  • ACT HomePro ZCU – USB series of controllers
  • ACT HomePro ZCS – Serial series of controllers
  • Wayne Dalton WD HD-10 USB controller and all branded versions of this device.
• Resolved issue where Hardware Interface could crash server if changing a property value before property view was initialized.
• SDK/Plugin development. Dependent DLLs will now be loaded from Dlls directory in Devices and Interfaces directories.
• Resolved issue in CM11 Hardware Interface where it could crash the server if enabled, disabled, and then enabled again.

[ScottBot]

If you haven't noticed, there have been some enhancements to the HouseBot website.

The most significant new feature to the site is the new download section that allows anyone to upload their skins, screen shots, configuration exports, or scripts. It's brand new, so there's not too much content there yet. If you have content you would like to share with the HouseBot community, please upload your contribution. After approved by CeBotics, it will appear for all to download.

The approval process is mostly to keep out spammers, so please don't feel that the submission will be critically evaluated in any way.

[ScottBot]

There is a new section on the web site for Tutorials. It's mostly basic stuff that is intended for new users to give them a few step-by-step guides for getting things configured.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.20 is now available for download.

For a list of changes in this version, refer to the new change log page.

[ScottBot]

HouseBot 3.30 is now available for download.

For a list of changes in this version, refer to the new change log page.

[ScottBot]

There is a new tutorial that shows the basic steps for configuring the Generic Serial plugins. The same steps can also be used to configure the GC-100 for serial control, although some of the configuration dialogs for the GC-100 are slightly different.

Check out the tutorials here.