Release Notes February 2022
What’s New?
- Chat Actions: Homebridge and Node-RED
- Source Configuration Feature: Zabbix
- New Source: Elastic Stack
- Homebridge Integration: Final Verification
- Changes in the Telegram Message Template
Chat Actions: Homebridge and Node-RED
The most important update of February is a feature that we have been planning to release for a long time. We’re talking about actions in the chat, i.e. the ability to launch events directly from the chat through a special button/link. With this feature, you will not only receive notifications of events but will also be able to immediately respond to them without wasting time and leaving the chat window.
The new feature is already available to Homebridge and Node-RED users, and soon it will also appear in Home Assistant. Through the interface of the desired service, you can configure the sending of messages with buttons/links along with certain types of notifications. Each button is assigned a reaction. When pressed, the signal will instantly be sent back to the home automation system, provoking the specified action.
The number of variations of events and action buttons/links for them within the framework of built-in automation cases is almost endless. Open the gate to the courier when you receive a message about the doorbell. Call a master as soon as you read the notice of a leak in the kitchen. Start the laundry drying program after notification of the end of the wash, and so on. And all this by clicking on a button/link in Viber, Signal, Slack or another recipient.
You can also set up sending up to 3 buttons/links at once and choose the desired reaction depending on the notification received and the situation. For example, when receiving a message containing a photo from a video doorbell or a surveillance camera, open the door or call the security service/police. In the first case, pressing the button/link will provoke the sending of a signal to open the door to the smart door lock and the subsequent physical opening of the door. In the second - activation of the alarm system.
In the future, we plan to introduce chat actions into other integrations with smart home services. Also, adding action buttons/links is now supported in the Node.js and Python libraries.
Read more about Chat Actions in the Help Center >>
Source Configuration Feature: Zabbix
Most recently, we blogged about notification filtering. Let us remind you that Notify.Events offers filtering by priority, level, and time. Today we are interested in the first two.
In order for you to personalize the experience of using this feature, some of our sources already offer custom setting of the events’ level and priority. So, you can more efficiently distribute message flows between different recipient services and/or subscribers.
Now it has become available for the Zabbix integration. In the source settings card, the user can change the default values, defining levels and priorities based on the properties of the Zabbix trigger. Previously, they were fixed and automatically determined by the monitoring tool itself.
Similar changes will soon affect GitLab and some other sources (let us tell it in confidence).
New Source: Elastic Stack
Elastic Stack, or ELK Stack, is an ecosystem of open-source components (Elasticsearch, Kibana, Beats, and Logstash) that are used to search and process data. Together, they allow users to “reliably and securely take data from any source, in any format, then search, analyze, and visualize it in real time”.
The application allows users to create alerts for certain events and track all of them in one place in Kibana. Integration with Notify.Events, on the other hand, lets you choose from 50+ recipient services, including popular instant messengers and push notification apps. Just connect the most convenient ones for you and let your colleagues do the same.
Homebridge Integration: Final Verification
And here's more news from the Smart Home category. In January, our integration with Homebridge (the software that acts as a link between Apple HomeKit and other IoT devices) was successfully verified which is proven by the corresponding badge. This means that Notify.Events for Homebridge is now a certified plugin, and you can instantly receive all important notifications from smart home devices connected through this service in a messenger convenient for you.
Changes in the Telegram Message Template
Last month we also slightly upgraded the format of Telegram incoming messages. Now attached images and files will be grouped into one message instead of being divided into several. This is how it will look (cats rule ^^):
Check out a new batch of Notify.Events Release Notes each month. Until then, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Telegram. If you have something to ask or suggest (maybe a new integration?), contact us at support@notify.events.
