Smart devices have never been more affordable, and the dream of a connected home that anticipates your whims and makes your life convenient is now available to almost everyone.
However, many homeowners will buy and stop smart devices without being able to take advantage of the true potential of their technology. Smart devices really shine when they work together.
Stringify is a conditional trigger system that can link devices and actions together. You will specify the trigger and then the action to be taken when this event occurs. The service calls these pairs streams because one activity flows into another.
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In this tutorial, we will create a simple flow with one trigger and one action. However, Stringify streams can create multiple pairs, allowing you to group into a group of interactions that can work together to make your life more comfortable.
To ensure that everyone can follow me, we’re going to create a thread that will send us a notification at a specific time.
However, where the app really stands out is its ability to connect multiple smart devices. Although we will not be covering smart device streams, the process for creating a smart device stream is much the same.
Follow the steps below to create your first Stringify Flow!
Create a Stringify flow
Step 1. Stringify Flow. Streams are processed exclusively through the app, so you need to download the app from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play (Android)
The process for creating a stream should be the same regardless of your operating system, but we’ll be using an iOS device.
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Step 2. Next, you need to create a Stringify account with your email address and desired password.
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Step 3. The following is a simple verification process, sending an email to your email asking you to click a link.
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If all goes to plan, you should see a confirmation in your browser that your account is activated and ready to go.
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Step 4. When you first open the application, you will be greeted with a basic guide explaining how it works. It’s pretty short, so we recommend taking a couple of minutes to scroll through it so you can understand the basics better.
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Step 5. Upon completion of the tutorial, you will be greeted by the main Stringify page. Click the Flows button at the bottom of the screen to start creating your first Flow.
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Step 6. Just like in the first login tutorial, Stringify will give you a quick tutorial on how threads work.
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Step 7. On the next screen, you are going to merge the stream. First name your Flow at the top of the screen.
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Then, at the bottom of the screen, click the Plus sign to add a trigger.
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Step 8. Since we will be collecting a stream that will send us a notification at a specific time, we will start by clicking Date and Time.
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The icon appears at the bottom of the Flow screen. Tap and drag to the top left corner. Stringify makes it easy to track triggers and actions since everything is presented visually. We’ll just paste the different parts where we want them to interact the way we want!
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Click on the icon to go to the next menu.
Step 9. The next menu gives you several options for choosing the date and time. For this tutorial, we’ll just pick a specific time. However, the Sunset and Sunrise features are quite handy as they dynamically adjust based on the time at your specific location.
It’s a great way to do things like turn on lights automatically when it gets dark, or open your blinds to let in some light when it’s time to get up in the morning.
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Step 10. Fill in the details as you wish. We’ll set it up so that the 12:05 pm notification repeats every day.
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Step 11. Now it’s time to add a Notification action that will run every day. Press the plus button again. On the next screen, tap “Notifications†– just like we did with the date and time.
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As before, you will see an icon in the bar at the bottom of the screen. Tap and drag it to the upper right corner.
You will see two arrows pointing at each other, one from the date and time and the other from notifications. This visually means that at a certain time, the thread is activated and triggers a notification.
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Tap the notification icon to continue and enter information.
Step 12. The only option for this step is to receive a push notification to your phone. Add this and make sure app notifications are enabled on your device.
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Step 13. After confirming these details, you will be able to see the final format of your stream.
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Go back to the main menu and make sure your stream is listed.
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Congratulations, you’ve created your first Flow!
Obviously this flow is pretty straightforward, but Stringify lets you get a little creative. If you need ideas, the service will help you.
Just click the Starter Flows button at the bottom of the main screen.
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There are several Stringify streams on the next page that you can activate directly or use to come up with ideas to help automate your daily life.
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If you’re looking for alternatives to Stringify, IFTTT is a competing service that offers slightly different features. IFTTT is generally compatible with a wide variety of devices, so you may find it easier to connect objects with this tool.
There are many options, from Stringify and IFTTT to simpler utilities like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. If you are looking to build your smart home, make sure you don’t neglect the power these trigger systems have to offer! Enjoy!
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