Setting the timer is error prone

[amstan]

I hit some sharp corners when using timers with tasmota.

Once you configure a device, it looks decievingly easy to enable a timer.

You go to the timer tab, enable an ON and OFF time. Wait a day, nothing, then you discover the "[ ] Enable Timers" checkbox wasn't checked.

You wait another few days, it's kinda doing stuff, but still wrong. Turns out the timezone is incorrect.

Here's some suggestions that could make this a lot nicer:

• Have a current time clock showing in the Timer settings page. It'll be obvious if the timezone is misconfigured.
• Have a timezone setting somewhere that doesn't involve the command line. As a user I find myself scanning all the setting options in the gui. I don't normally mind command lines, but this part is easy to miss because of it.
• Automatically set "[ ] Enable Timers" when the user is interacting with the Timers page (like enabling a timer slot). In fact, why does this lever even exist? Could it always stay enabled, or at least have it be default on?
• On the timers page: some kind of ETA for the next events, or perhaps a future agenda for the next trigger times (ex: "next event (at 5PM, in 1 min 10 seconds): Slot 1, Output 1, Action ON"). This way it's really obvious that the event will happen without having to do a trial run and wait random (I found myself artificially simulating an event at the next full minute a couple of times to make sure it works).

[mi-hol]

• Have a timezone setting somewhere that doesn't involve the command line. As a user I find myself scanning all the setting options in the gui. I don't normally mind command lines, but this part is easy to miss because of it.

It would nicely fit within the existing WebUI "Configuration/Timer" page.
Would that be a good suggestion?

[mi-hol]

Please vote for supporting this proposal by clicking "ThumbUp" Icon in the dedicated discussion post here

[sfromis]

As responded in that thread, it is more complex than that, and does not really make sense as suggested. Most users should not even be specifically setting the time zone, see the thread for details.

[mi-hol]

@sfromis it seems you wanted to a link to a specific older thread when you wrote "see the thread for details." but forgot to add the link
or did I misunderstand and you meant my dedicated discussion post here?

[sfromis]

Nothing forgotten, simply the thread already linked by you

[sfromis]

If you want a visible clock, the command WebTime provides this on the front page.

[amstan]

Seems to work, but that's quite an unfriendly command to type.

webtime 0 1000, essentially the string it wants to print is "2025-05-06T09:18:38", and the parameters are the substrings start and ends in there (default nothing).

This should probably be a default or something (and command should be more user friendly).

[arendst]

The command WebTime is one of the most versatile commands present in Tasmota with the lowest code-footprint. The user can select any part of the time string. What's difficult in typing WebTime 11,19.

[amstan]

I'm sure it's versatile and easy to implement, but you shouldn't expect random users to type this to get something that should already be builtin (in the context of my whole scenario at the top).