Anyone know how to use the old_state of an input_slider

Configuration
1

Does anyone know how to get the old_state of an input_slider? I want to be use the input_slider to control the volume of an amplifier using lirc. Thus I need to know what the last value of the slider was to know whether it went up or down and to thus send the correct command.

TIA

2

Can you share the automation you have so far, if any? And also, I believe itā€™s from_state and not old_state.

3

Hi

Thanks for the responseā€¦I thought I had posted a reply to you. Doh!

Iā€™ve spent some time learning HA and I still think the from_state value is not made available ie it is not a state property.

Here is the automation:

automation 3:
alias: Sony Amp Volume Set
trigger:
platform: state
entity_id: input_slider.ampvol
action:
service: notify.notify
data:
message: ā€˜Volume has gone from {{ states.input_slider.ampvol.from_state}} to {{ states.input_slider.ampvol.state}}ā€™

The message I receive is:

Volume has gone from to 14.0

It doesnā€™t matter whether I use from_state or old_state.

I can make automations work when the trigger is from a value to another value so the triggering code ā€œknowsā€ the old_state but I need to know simply if the difference between old_state and current state is positive or negative. Thus I would know whether to turn volume down or up.

TIA

4

It may not fix the issue, but try this:

automation 3:
  alias: Sony Amp Volume Set
  trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: input_slider.ampvol
  action:
    service: notify.notify
    data:
      message: 'Volume has gone from {{ trigger.from_state.state }} to {{ trigger.to_state.state }}'
5

Hi. Just for anyone elseā€™s benefit Davidā€™s answer is almost right. This requires the data_template to be used thus the following does work OK:

automation 3:    
  alias: Sony Amp Volume Set
  trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: input_slider.ampvol
  action:
    service: notify.notify
    data_template:
      message: 'Volume has gone from {{ trigger.from_state.state }} to {{ trigger.to_state.state }} '
1 Like
6

Oh, oops! Seems I overlooked that bit, but then I couldnā€™t actually test my code. Glad itā€™s working now, though :smile:

7

and an Oops! from me. I forgot to thank you for your help. Ta.

8

Ok so one tiny step forward. Now Iā€™m trying to build an if statement into the data_template but it fails. This is the automation:

automation 3:    
  alias: Sony Amp Volume Set
  trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: input_slider.ampvol
  action:
     service: notify.notify
     data_template: 
        message: {% if trigger.to_state.state | int - trigger.from_state.state | int < 0 %}
                           'Volume has gone DOWN! '
                       {% else %}
                           'Volume has gone UP! or stayed the same'
                       {% endif %}

The error log shows the following and homeassistant does not start:

16-08-31 20:21:52 homeassistant.util.yaml: while scanning for the next token
found character '%' that cannot start any token
in "/home/hass/.homeassistant/configuration.yaml", line 65, column 17
9 
automation 3:    
  alias: Sony Amp Volume Set
  trigger:
    platform: state
    entity_id: input_slider.ampvol
  action:
    service: notify.notify
    data_template: 
      message: >-
        {% if (trigger.to_state.state | int - trigger.from_state.state | int) < 0 %}
          Volume has gone DOWN!
        {% else %}
          Volume has gone UP! or stayed the same
        {% endif %}

The main issue is that your message (the entire if-statement in your case) either needs to be quoted, or started with > followed by a newline. Using >- instead of just > strips unnecessary newlines and spaces from the text being shown.

I also wrapped your if between parentheses so the entire thing gets compared to 0, not just the from state. Or you could use the following if instead: if trigger.to_state.state | int < trigger.from_state.state | int

Finally, I just fixed the indentation here and there.

1 Like
10

Wow! You are a champion. Thanks. Worked perfectly and I will give me a rap on the knuckles for not carefully looking at syntax. Thanks againā€¦now to send the correct lirc commands