Please add possibility to include virtual pin values in notification messages

[Wibo]

Currently “placeholders will be filled with the actual value after automation is triggered” for “organization name”, “template name”, “device name” and “trigger value”. But it would be helpful to also allow current “virtual pin values” to be included. This would be more in line with what was possible in the previous version of Blynk.
For example: I used to inform the user if a new maximum was reached, but I can no longer put the value of that new maximum in the message.
The same goes for the email message of course, this is even more usefull since emails stay available, in app notifications only have a limited lifetime.

An alternative would be to allow a string variable to be included in the message that can then be constructed before triggering the notification. This way the developer can include virtual pin values in that string.

[PeteKnight]

@Wibo

For example: I used to inform the user if a new maximum was reached, but I can no longer put the value of that new maximum in the message.

I would have thought that you could achieve this using the Trigger value field.
Am I misunderstanding your requirement? If so, can you explain further?

Also, you could also do this in code and include any text/values you wish (within the 300 character limit).

Pete.

[John93]

@Wibo

An alternative would be to allow a string variable to be included in the message

You can use events to achieve that. Events give you the ability to add custom descriptions.
For example

if (temperature > 35)
{
  Blynk.logEvent("event_code", String("High TemperatureDetected! Tº: ") + temp);
}

You can check the documentation for more details

Events

also, you should keep in your mind that there’s a limitation (100 events per device per day), so use it wisely.

[Wibo]

Hi Pete thanks for the reply.
The trigger value is not necessarily the same as the actual value: if temp > 50 I assumed the trigger value is 50 but the temp could be 60 and I would have liked to have the number 60 in the notification.
As you say that I can do this in code, I will further dig into the documentation. Thanks for the suggestion.
Another reply from somebody states that I can also use events for this puspose. Also this possibility I will look into further.
Thanks to this community and the swift replies, I don’t feel left alone in my conversion efforts

[Wibo]

Hi John, thanks for your suggestion. I did read up on events, but it was stil too abstract for me. Now that I know it can actually solve my problem I am extra motivated to dig into it again with more perseverance ;-). It’s the learning curve I have to go through.
Thanks,
Jan.

[PeteKnight]

@Wibo

if temp > 50 I assumed the trigger value is 50

No, the trigger value is the value that’s appearing on the virtual pin that is triggering the automation.
Try it and you’ll see (but be careful that your datastream min/max values don’t compress the actual range and confuse your results.

@Wibo

I will further dig into the documentation

I’d suggest that you start here…

Events, Notifications and the use of "Flag" variables

Update 19th May 2022 - you’ll see references to a limit of one event per minute in this tutorial. It appears that this limit has now been removed. I’ve not yet tested this myself, and when I do I’ll update the tutorial to reflect my findings. I’m seeing quite a few posts from people who are finding it difficult to get notifications working in Blynk IoT, and who don’t understand how to use “flag” variables to limit the number of notifications that are sent for any given alert situation. I thoug…

Pete.

[Wibo]

Hi Pete, that FAQ was exactly what I needed!
Thanks a lot, I finally understood and got it working.
Jan.