100 PCWorld FEBRUARY 2019HERE’S HOW USE ALEX A ROUTINES TO MAKE AN AMAZON ECHO SMARTER
All Routines consist of one triggering
condition (such as a voice command) and
one or more corresponding actions. Start by
setting up your trigger by selecting “When
this happens.”
From here, you’ll see five options:
Voice: Triggers the routine with a
phrase of your choosing, such as “Alexa,
goodnight.”
Schedule: Triggers the routine at a
specific time on specific days (including just
weekends and just weekdays).
Device: Triggers the routine through a
supported contact or motion sensor (this
currently requires a SmartThings or Echo
Plus hub).
Arrive or leave: Uses your phone’s
geo-location to trigger a routine at home,
work, or a specific address.Echo Button: Smack one of Amazon’s
big buttons ($20 for a two-pack) to trigger
a routine.
Setting up these triggers is mostly
self-explanatory. Just select one from the list,
and then follow the on-screen prompts. If
you only want a routine to trigger during
certain times of the day, you can also hit
Change next to the Anytime section to set
up a schedule. (This applies to Device
triggers, Arrive or Leave triggers, and the
Echo Button.)
After you’ve set up a trigger, you can
start selecting actions to go with it by
hitting the Add Action button, which brings
up several options:
Alexa Says will make your Echo say
something out loud. This can either be a
custom phrase or one of several preset
utterances, such as a
joke or a salutation.
Calendar will
have Alexa read the
current day’s
agenda, tomorrow’s
schedule, or just the
next event.
Device settings
can adjust Alexa’s
volume, stop audio
playback, or
toggle Do Not
Disturb mode.
Tap the Add Action button after you’ve set up a trigger. Messaging can