ADVANCEDPROJECTS
ISSUE 381|COMPUTERSHOPPER|NOVEMBER 2019 125
MANYSMARTDEVICES,online services
and apps are just brilliant at what theydo.
But so oɗen, the range of connection options
forthese great bits of tech is limited. IFTTT is
like abundle of virtual patch cables to hook
together all these devices, apps and online
services. This lets you break free from
manufacturer lock-ins and allows you to
cherry-pick the best tool forwhatever job
you’re trying to do,orjust hack together
some of the kit your currently own.
As an online service,the first step is to
sign up atifttt.com.Wesuggest using an
email address, as using your Facebook or
Google login just seems ascary amount of
integration. IFTTT will greet you with some
simple Applets, such as sending atest
notification or setting areminder to drink
water every hour.However,these
recommendations are somewhat random,
so you might see other starter Applets.
IFTHIS...
It’s easiest to understand what IFTTT does if
you createanApplet yourself.AnApplet is
based around atrigger event causing a
consequence event: if something happens,
makesomethingelsehappen:ifthis,thenthat.
Scroll down the list of ready-made Applet
possibilities and click on the curiously small
Createyour own entry.Ŵou can also choose
Createfrom your user menu ̣top righţ.
The first stage of creating an Applet is
to select your trigger: your ͗if’. Once the
statement If ̽This Then That appears, click
the ̽This portion ̣see image^1 ,page 126̧.
Ŵou’ll be taken to the colourful grid of
services, with asearch function to quickly
find what you want. Most of the options are
devices or online services ȸfor example,a
D-Ëink Motion Sensor,oryour smart-enabled
BMW ȸbut there are some generic options
such as DateƭTime and Ëocation.
The DateƭTime trigger is an easy one
to use foryour first Applet. This essentially
lets you saythat at aspecified time on a
specified day, something will happen.
Once you’ve selected DateƭTime as
your This, you’ll need to press the
Connect on the next web page,which
will launch apopup foryou to select
your time zone.Press Connect on
the popup and you’re ready to
actually choose your trigger event.
There are five basic rules to choose
from. Ëet’s sayyou want to turn on a
smart plug that’s powering alamp or
radio,and you want to do that every
weekday. Choose the Every dayof
the week at option ̣^2 ̧, then select atime
and which days of the week to use.
We selected 8am and ticked the boxes for
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
and Friday. Then click Createtrigger ̣^3 ̧.
Ŵou’ll be taken back to the main screen of
your Applet, but now the If-Then statement
contains the DateƭTime icon ̣^4 ̧. Click the
new ̽That portion of your statement to
make this Applet actually do something.
Again, you’re taken to the colourful grid of
options. Following our example of using IFTTT
to turn on asmart plug, find your plug’s
service ̣WeMo Smart Plug, forexamplȩ ̣^5 ̧.
Ŵou’ll need to connect your IFTTT account
to your WeMo device via the Connect button
on the next web page.Click Connect and
another popup will appear to ask forlogin
details or tell you how to generateanauthorisation code or whatever is required.
Once connected, you’ll be given aselection
of base actions again, so select one that
seems to fit and modify the conditions.
Once done,click Createaction. Ŵou’ll see
asummary of your Applet, and can either
edit its conditions or confirm its creation....THENTHAT
Since IFTTT’s launch back in 2011, there is
more interoperability and cross-compatibility
between services and devices than previously,
but there is still aneed forIFTTT to tie
certain tasks together.Click the Get more
lozenge and you can scroll through many of
the options, from being emailed when
there’s anew trigger or action fora
favouriteservice,toautomatically
changing your Android device’s
wallpaper to the latest ãASA image.
There are collections of Applets too,
including Healthy Habits ̣seetinyurl.
com/381projects1̧, which includes
automated emails collating the top
posts from healthy eating subreddits and
websites. There’s an Applet to link your
smart Withings scales with your Fitbit so
your weight can be synced and tracked,
from targets measured through your Fitbit
or Strava account. Ŵoucan link your Ēapital
account to various services to boost your
saving efforts or tick off tasks on your smart
to-do list ̣iOS’s Reminders, forexamplȩ.ѡÛake ѻour own FĴĴĴ ppʺet ǔѻ cʺʡckʡnɽ $reateѻour own