Modern smartphones are rightfully called smart phones, because they are able to perform many routine tasks in automatic mode. To do this, you only need to install a special utility that can track certain events and perform the actions you need.

One of the most popular utilities of this kind is Tasker, which is rightfully considered the "Swiss knife" of automation. With it, it's easy to teach your phone to automatically turn on silent mode at work, turn off Wi-Fi when you leave the house, and launch your favorite music player when you plug in your headphones. However, for all its merits, Tasker is difficult to master, its interface inspires horror with its angularity, and besides, it costs money.

If you are looking for free alternative, then be sure to pay attention to SwiP. This program provides automatic switching between different device profiles that you have created. Although it is not as flexible and feature-rich as Tasker, its capabilities are still enough for the average user. In addition, SwiP is much more convenient and easier to operate and configure.

The main screen of the program is divided into two tabs: "Profiles" and "Triggers". The first is for managing profiles and contains three preset profiles called Home, Default, and Meeting. You can edit any of them or create a completely new set of settings. In each profile, you can include the following actions:

• changing the call mode;
• setting the volume of the call and notifications;
• setting the alarm volume;
• enable or disable GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth;
• brightness level adjustment.

On the "Triggers" tab, you can set the conditions under which a particular profile will be activated. This can be your geographic location, time, battery status, headphone connection, and so on. It is also possible to link the same profile to multiple triggers. In this case, you must set a priority for each condition.

The program is currently in beta testing, but we haven't found any bugs or problems while using it. Try SwiP in action and let us know in the comments about your impression.

We can’t help but get around such a condition as a PIN code, but with the help of one program and advice on how how to use tasker, we will be one step closer to new technology.

INSTALLING TASKER AND SECURE SETTINGS In order to be able to enable or disable the PIN code request on your smartphone, in addition to the Trigger application, you need to additionally install the Tasker and Tasker Plug-in Secure Settings programs. Both utilities can be found at Play market(1a, 16). Tasker costs 99.99 rubles, and you can find a free version for seven days at tasker.dinglisch.net/dl. You need to download this version of the application in APK format on your smartphone and install it using File Explorer. During the installation, skip the "Protection I File of unknown origin" notification. We advise you to install Tasker before installing Trigger to avoid problems, as Trigger will not have access to Tasker tasks. In the event that you have already installed Trigger, select the Backup item from the installation menu of this program before uninstalling and reinstalling . Then restore the Trigger data from the backup you made earlier.

TASKS SETTING Launch Tasker, go to the settings menu. In the general settings, check the box next to "Allow external access" (2a) so that Trigger has access to the tasks of the Tasker program. Use the back button to return to the main menu, go to the "Task" tab and click "+" to create a task. Create a name "Enable/Disable PIN Code" and check the box, select "Change Task" from the menu and press "+" again. In the "Action Categories" window that appears, select "Plugin-Secure Settings" (26).

PIN CODE SWITCHING USING SECURE SETTINGS

In the "Action Edit" soft menu at the top right, click the pencil icon next to the "Configuration" line to set the "Secure Settings" function. In the "AH Actions" menu, select "Keyguard" (For) and click on the item "Toggle" (36). Save your settings by clicking on the floppy disk symbol and you will be taken back to the Tasker program. Press the back button to return to the main application menu. It is important to exit the installation menu correctly, otherwise the utility will not activate the task.

HOW TO INTEGRATE NFC TASK IN TRIGGER Open the Trigger program again. If you have already created a profile, enter it using the menu items "My tasks I [profile name]", otherwise just create a new task by clicking on the "+" button. In the "Set up tasks" menu, enable the "Tasker" function by clicking "+ I Tasker I Tasker Tasks I Next" (4a). In the App Settings window that appears, click on the magnifying glass icon, select Tasks (46) and click Add to Tasks. In the same order, in the "Customize Switcher" menu, add Tasker tasks again so that they are correctly installed in the Trigger program and it can execute them. Now all you have to do is write down the information on the sticker, and you can easily turn the PIN on and off using the NFC tag without much difficulty.

Advanced Scheduler. Allows for different events to produce actions / lists of actions. Similar to Locale, only much more powerful. It is possible to create widgets with an arbitrary list of actions.

Main list of events:

• Application Service Activity Tracking
• Launching and shutting down the application
• Start selected application activity(long tap on the application in the selection list)
• User request for help in an application or system
• The occurrence of a specific time and/or date, as well as the day, week, month, day of the month or week, day of the month or week, last day of the month
• Coming and ending certain period time
• The onset and end of the event in the calendar, alarm clock
• Entering a geographic area (determined by GPS or cell towers and WIFI hotspots) and exit from it
• Connecting the machine to a specific cell tower (from a specified list of towers)
• Establishing and disconnecting a connection certain mode mobile data: 2G, 3G, 4G and others
• Reaching and losing a certain level of cellular signal reception
• Finding a specific (or any) WIFI hotspot, connecting to it and disconnecting from it
• Turning airplane mode on and off
• Turning on and off Bluetooth adapters, NFC and WIFI
• Hardware keyboard events (open-extract/close-retract)
• Pressing certain hardware keys, including those on headphones (wired or wireless)
• Pressing soft buttons and some other user interface elements of Android and third-party programs
• Incoming or outgoing call, answering an incoming call, ending a call
• Receiving SMS (MMS)
• Successful sending of SMS (MMS) and an error when sending it
• Missed call, SMS (MMS)
• Events from various built-in sensors (illuminance, proximity to an object, orientation, movement, magnetic field, pressure, temperature, humidity, pedometer)
• Connecting and disconnecting charger(wired, wireless, USB bus powered)
• Reaching a certain battery level, discharging the battery below a certain level, changing the battery level
• Turning the screensaver on or off (Android Daydream)
• Connecting to and disconnecting from a computer via USB
• Connecting to the machine USB devices and turn them off
• Connecting and disconnecting an SD card
• Finishing downloading Android and starting to turn off the device
• Screen on/off, screen unlock
• Starting and ending a user session
• Creating, modifying and deleting a file on the SD card
• Connecting and disconnecting wired or wireless headphones, Bluetooth and USB devices
• Connecting to and disconnecting from a car or desktop dock, TV, watch
• Spatial movement of the device in a given way - gesture
• Shaking the apparatus
• The occurrence of a certain system event in Android - receiving an intent (intent)
• Changing the system date, time, time zone
• Adding, updating, and deleting an application
• Appearance of a certain or any window (ordinary, pop-up, dialog)
• The appearance of an application notification in the system notification bar and the user selects such a notification

Main Action List:

• Driving mode control
• Airplane mode control, incl. selective shutdown of radio modules
• Volume control, incl. individual streams: call, tone dialing signal (DTMF), telephone conversation, incl. via bluetooth headset, alarm clock, ringtones, notifications
• Ringtone playback and vibration control for incoming calls
• Answer to incoming call("to pick up the phone")
• Silent control
• Screen settings management: brightness, incl. automatic brightness mode, orientation, duration of inactivity before blocking, incl. when charging
• Getting information about screen characteristics: screen dimensions, screen resolution, current auto-orientation setting
• Setting the wallpaper on the home screen
• Screen lock management: turn the lock on and off, incl. forced activation of the lock
• Controlling the auto-sync mode
• Control of the mode of sound accompaniment of pressing hardware and software buttons, haptic navigation mode
• LED control, incl. LED backlight mode when displaying notifications by Android and third-party applications
• Night mode control
• Enable/disable adapters Bluetooth, NFC, WIFI, WiMax, GPS, network mobile communications, including control of data transfer modes in the mobile communication network
• Obtaining information about the network connection (connection type, availability of access to mobile transmission data), WIFI network settings (adapter MAC address, signal strength, access point name), Bluetooth, Ethernet
• Setting device name in bluetooth network
• Turning on and off different modes data transfer via NFC, incl. Android Beam and NFC Payment
• emulation of button presses incl. and non-existent on the device, for example, joystick emulation - a "universal sledgehammer", which is used for almost everything
• text input emulation
• Capture in the exclusive use of some hardware buttons
• Closing system dialogs
• Inserting an event into a calendar
• Get information about calendar entries
• Call to a specific number
• Manage outgoing calls to specific numbers: call blocking and forwarding
• Creation of letters, SMS and MMS
• Sending SMS
• Getting information about contacts in the phone book
• Application launch, incl. call log, contacts (with the selection of specific contacts), maps (with the selection of a specific location), input language selection dialog, applications that provide separation of Internet traffic via USB and WIFI (tether)
• Obtaining information about installed applications and application components (activities, services, receivers)
• Managing the notification panel: displaying and minimizing it
• Interrupt Mode Control
• Adding a new alarm
• Starting the system stopwatch
• Selecting the default SMS application
• Force Quit Applications
• Control music player, incl. built-in, incl. playlist generation
• Playing audio files, built-in ringtones incl. with audio stream selection
• Getting information about audio files: title, artist, playing time
• Vibration activation, incl. according to a given template
• Built-in microphone control, incl. sound recording from it
• Operations with directories and files: creating, copying, moving, reading (getting a list of files in the case of directories), checking the existence of a file, reading file attributes: size, access rights, modification time, writing, deleting, archiving to zip archive, extracting from zip archive, encryption and decryption)
• Working with images: resizing, cropping, rotating, applying a filter
• Setting default ringtones for calls, alarms, notifications
• Determination of the current location (by GPS or by cell towers and WIFI access points)
• Connecting to and disconnecting from an Ethernet network
• Output of messages, ordinary and pop-up dialogs, menus, lists (in fact, it is possible to build arbitrary graphical user interfaces through scenes
• Displaying notifications in the notification panel, incl. accompanied by LED lighting or sound notifications, vibration
• Canceling your own notifications
• Speech recognition and synthesis
• Switching to the home screen, incl. with a certain number
• Getting the ID of the current user
• Working with web servers: receiving and sending content, not necessarily in html format, running scripts in shell, javascript, SL4A
• Using Java language constructs and calling Java and Android language functions (via Java reflection mechanism)
• remounting partitions on an internal or external memory card
• Starting a system forced scan of an SD card
• Sending an arbitrary system event - intent (intent)
• Adding content to the clipboard
• Photography
• Flash control
• Operators for organizing control in programs: creating and changing variables, arrays, the if-then-else operator, loops, calling subroutines (in fact, even coroutines), mathematical functions, searching and replacing by pattern, incl. using regular expressions

Both of these lists are far from complete. Firstly, Tasker's set of events and actions can be expanded by connecting third-party plugins, thousands of them. Secondly, using emulation of hardware and software keys or running scripts on the shell and SL4A, you can perform almost any action. And besides, there is also the reception and sending of intents.

scenes

Scenes allow you to add a graphic user interface to tasks. That is, if you dreamed of orange buttons on a crimson background, Tasker scenes are exactly what you need to make your dream come true.
In fact, the raspberry background, of course, no one uses. Nearly. But, for example, make the background of the window transparent, place the window on top of the status bar, and display the text with the battery charge in the window itself. Tempting? Still would.

List of interface elements

• button
• checkbox - a checkbox (by marking the same element with a checkmark in a paragraph, we change one or another parameter).
• Doodle - a field where we can draw an element on the screen
• image
• map - gps map
• Menu - a menu with a scrollable list of all the items we have added
• Number Picker - number selection (as for example in the settings given in android. Spinning drum)
• oval - graphic element oval.
• Restangle - graphic figure
• slider - the so-called slider (changing the volume in the settings, for example, is done in the form of a slider)
• spiner - drop down menu
• text - text display
• textEdit - input field, text editing
• toggle - on / off button (for example, turning on wi-fi in the settings
• webview - view web pages (standard android tools)

We take the interface elements listed above, combine them in different ways, set the width, height, colors so that it is not boring. Such a set is called a scene.

1. We start by determining the size of the scene (tab scenes), press (+) enter the name of our scene, then in the visual scene editor, increase / decrease the scene area to the size we need
2. Now we can fill the created scene with our elements

In the screenshot above, the image of the radio (all these buttons, wheels, orange screen in the center) is set as a background image for our scene (set as background). UI elements have been added to the scene with transparent background(dotted lines in the picture are the borders of the elements). To create a more realistic interface (draw a pressed key, for example), you will have to draw (steal) a picture for each graphic element (in several versions, a pressed and not pressed button). And set these pictures as a background for each element separately, then the background of the scene can be filled with one color.
4. We sign the buttons (Text). In the screenshot below - Tasker's dialog for editing the LIGHT button (it is in the center of a row of buttons located immediately below the orange screen). We assign actions to the buttons to taste for tapping (Tap), long pressing (Long Tap)

Millions of people spend a lot of time doing routine tasks. This also applies to the use of computers and smartphones. We constantly turn on GPS, turn off Wi-Fi, launch applications - we perform dozens of different operations. And no matter how convenient the interface is, all these actions waste a precious non-renewable resource - time. Meanwhile, if you look, you can always find a pattern in the performance of routine operations: for example, the GPS module turns on when the smartphone is used in the car, and Wi-Fi - when the device is at home. Similar patterns underlie the work of Tasker. This utility is not the only automation tool for Android, but other programs (for example, on (X) and Locale) are just child's play compared to the hero of our article.

You can entrust him with almost anything: the application will properly filter incoming SMS, turn on and off the smartphone at a specified time and when given conditions, wake up the owner of the phone in the middle of the night if a call comes from a certain number, and keep him asleep if calls come from any other numbers. Tasker can go online at the right time, ask about the weather forecast and display a notification on the screen that it won’t hurt to take an umbrella with you today. The program can also be required to monitor battery savings, control ringer volume, screen brightness, and other parameters. By and large, Tasker can handle almost any task, including creating standalone Android apps. At the heart of any script that Tasker executes is a simple rule: "If an event X occurs, you must automatically execute Y."

The widest possibilities of automation are both the main advantage and the main disadvantage of the application: it is not easy to deal with the utility on the go: all scripts have to be created with clean slate. The developer compares his brainchild with a huge Lego box, from the parts of which you can assemble anything. However, there are many examples of using Tasker and even ready-made scripts on the Internet.

BASIC TASKER CONCEPTS

As already mentioned, it will take time to master Tasker, and first of all, you should study the terminology of the program. The application uses seven basic terms, each of which has a strictly defined meaning - these are tasks, profiles, projects, contexts, scenes, variables, and actions.

Actions

By action is meant what exactly the application should do, subject to certain conditions. That is, the Y in the formula "If X happened, you need to do Y" will be an action. Action is disable wifi, turn on an alarm, display a notification or reminder, etc. In total, more than two hundred actions are sewn into the program, most of which can be flexibly configured and linked to each other.

Tasks

Actions are grouped into tasks. A task can contain one action, ten or a hundred - it all depends on what result you need to achieve. Tasks can be started with actions. Also, a task can contain several actions that launch tasks, each of which, in turn, has some actions defined. This allows you to group activities into tasks and refer to these sets of activities in different tasks. An example of a task could be a set of actions that changes the brightness, volume, and other settings of a device in a certain way. Each parameter is controlled by a specific action, but a group of actions forms a task that can be used either on its own or as part of other, more challenging tasks. Tasks can be launched using contexts, widgets, through third-party applications, as well as directly using shortcuts.

Contexts and profiles

The context is the condition for starting the task (X in the above formula). Connecting to a specific Wi-Fi network, admission incoming message, application launch are all examples of context.

Unlike tasks, contexts cannot exist separately; they are always an integral part of some profile. A profile is a script, in fact, what binds tasks and contexts, determining which task should be launched when the context is executed. A profile can contain up to four contexts and up to two tasks. Contexts can be of several types: time, date, place, event, and state. With the first three, everything is more or less clear: the condition is the onset of a given time, date, or the movement of the device to a certain place. But the contexts of states and events can be more difficult to understand, so we will consider them separately.

Status context

When using a state context, the profile remains active as long as the condition continues to be true (for example, as long as a connection to a given Wi-Fi network is available). There are two types of tasks for persistent contexts: inbound and outbound. The former are executed when the condition is triggered and the profile becomes active, the latter when the profile is deactivated.

Event context

Unlike state contexts, event contexts never run for a specific amount of time. An example of such a context would be receiving an SMS message. When the event context fires, the task is executed and the profile is no longer active. If the profile contains several contexts, then only one of them can be event-driven, since it is impossible for two contexts to run simultaneously. When using two or more contexts, keep in mind that in order for a profile to run, they all need to fire. For example, if a Wi-Fi network status context and an SMS receive event context are used, then the trigger condition will be: “if I receive an SMS while I am connected to this network…”

Variables

Variables are used to access information about the system, to pass data between parts of Tasker, and also act as settings. For example, the %DATE variable specified when composing a reminder will always be replaced current date when it appears on the screen.

scenes

The stage is the user interface. With Tasker, you can create menus, pop-ups, settings, and other interface elements.

Projects

Projects serve to put all Tasker settings in one place. A project can combine multiple tasks, profiles, and scenes. Projects are also useful when exporting, as they allow you to create your own application based on a set of tasks, scenes, and profiles. On the network you can find many ready-made user projects.

BEGINNING OF WORK

Main window: interface features

When the application is launched for the first time, the user sees an empty main window. AT top panel there are several tabs whose names are already familiar to those who have studied Tasker terminology. In the future, these tabs will display already created profiles, tasks and scenes.

By default, Tasker starts in easy mode, but most of the guides on the Internet and even the official guide for using the application are based on normal mode. Therefore, the first thing to do after starting is to switch to normal mode. To do this, click on the button, go to Settings, open the Interface tab and uncheck the Beginner Mode checkbox.

At the bottom of each tab there is a button, by clicking on which new program elements are created (depending on which tab is currently active). In order to create new project, click the button and select Add.

The icon is displayed at the top of the window. In order to disable all active profiles, you need to double-click on it. When all profiles are disabled, the icon will turn gray.

The application searches not only for the created profiles, tasks and scenes, but also for the settings and (subject to a working network connection) for the user manual. The search is carried out by keywords. To search for something, click on the button and select a search option. For example, to search by content, make the User Data option active and type the desired keyword in the search field.

Create a new profile

By touching the button for creating a new profile, you can see a list of six categories of contexts

For example, let's create a simple profile that will serve sound signal and send a notification in case of battery overheating.

Creating a profile begins with adding a context, that is, specifying the conditions for performing an action. To create our profile, select the category Event > Charging > Battery overheating

If an error occurred and the wrong context was specified, you can return to the selection window by clicking on the Switch State or Switch Event button (depending on the type of context).

Now click on the button and enter the name of the task. Click the button to add an action. The Tasker application contains more than twenty different categories of actions. For our profile, you will need to select the Signal category. More than a dozen different signal options, in turn, are available

To make the device sound an alarm when the battery overheats, select the Notification with sound option from the options offered by the program.

Now we need to configure the created action.

Enter the notification text in the Title field. In field Sound file you can choose one of the available signals or specify the path to any audio file located in the device's memory or on an SD card

If an incorrect action was set by mistake, you can return to the selection window by pressing the Switch Action button. To go to the list of profiles, tap the back button on the Android status bar. By default, each new profile automatically becomes active immediately after creation. To turn it off, you need to set the switch opposite the profile name to the Off position.

Tasks created once are saved on the Tasks tab and are available for editing. In addition, when creating new profiles, the program prompts you to select a task from among existing ones.

Thus, you can not waste time creating tasks of the same type. To add additional context to an already created profile, click on the name of the profile, then touch and hold the line with the first context until a menu appears

Select Add.

In the interface settings, you can set menu items that will be called by a short click/long press on a context or task.

Adding a task to a profile is performed in the same way. Using this menu, you can also create copies of contexts, delete them, rename them, and change the tasks specified in the profile to others. Profiles that are this moment active are highlighted in light green in the list. In addition, they can be seen on the panel android notifications. If there are no active profiles at the moment, a message will appear on the notification panel about this.

Launching tasks using the widget on the start screen

Although Tasker has almost limitless customization options, it is by no means always possible to specify the conditions under which automation tasks will work. Sometimes it is preferable to include tasks manually, that is, to use an action or set of actions without context. One of the convenient ways to start tasks in manual mode- launch using a widget placed on the start screen. Let's take a closer look at how this can be done. To create a widget, go to the list of Android widgets. Tap and hold Tasker until the widget is brought to the home screen. In the appeared menu for adding a task

name it, then click the button and add one or more actions. Click the Select Icon button to select an icon for the widget.

Click on the back button in the Android status bar.

A new widget with the selected icon will appear on the start screen. Click on the widget to see how the task works in manual mode.

Profile properties

The Properties link will appear at the top of the screen if you hold your finger on the profile name for a few seconds. Using this link, you can view and change some settings of the current profile

So, if you check the box Number of repetitions. you can specify the maximum number of profile hits. In the Time between activations field, you can set the minimum time interval between profile activations. If you uncheck the Show In Notification Pulldown checkbox, the information that the profile is active will not be displayed in the status bar.

EXAMPLES OF USING TASKER

Performing the same actions every day, you may not even be aware that they can be automated. Below are the most common examples of using Tasker to perform everyday tasks.

Launching a music app when headphones are connected

You have connected headphones to your smartphone. Your next step will almost certainly be launching an application to play audio files. Tasker can do this for you. Create a new profile and select the context Status > Hardware > Headphones connected. Return to the list of profiles by clicking on the back button, click on the link New task. Specify a name for the task, for example Launch Player. Touch the button and select the category Signal > Menu. In the Items field, click on the button for adding an item. Click the Action button. Select the action category Application > Launch Application. A list of installed applications will appear on the screen. Choose the right one. If you need to launch multiple applications, return to the step of adding an action, in the Items field, click the add item button and add another application.

Disable some device features when the battery is low

Android owners really appreciate every opportunity to recharge mobile device. If there is no power source nearby, you can extend battery life by turning off unnecessary functions. Create a profile that will automatically optimize the performance of the device when the charge decreases. Create a new profile and select the context Status > Charging > Battery level. Move the From slider to position 0 and the To slider to position 20

Add new task and name it, for example, Low Battery Actions. Add an action Network > Change Wi-Fi Status. By default, the Disable action is selected for it, in which case you do not need to change the settings.

Return to the Add Actions window and add another one by selecting the Network > Auto Sync category. In the Install list, select Disable. Now, when the battery is low, automatic synchronization will be disabled. You can also reduce the brightness of the display to save battery. To do this, return to the window for adding actions and select the category Display > Display brightness. Set the desired brightness using the Level slider. You can also turn off Bluetooth data transfer to optimize battery life. To do this, add the action Network > Bluetooth and in the Installation list, select the Disable option. Now our task contains four actions that will be performed every time the battery level drops to 20%

Mute the call during important meetings

This profile is useful for those who use the calendar to schedule appointments. During important meetings, it is customary to turn off the bell so that the phone does not distract the participants. Tasker can put the phone on silent mode itself, and turn it back on when the meeting is over. To create such a profile, select the context State > Application > Calendar Entry. Click the search icon next to the Calendar field to select the one you need. By default, Tasker will respond to all calendar entries, but you can use an availability filter. For example, a profile can become active only if an appointment is found in the calendar for which the user has indicated that he will be unavailable during the appointment. To create such a context, in the Available list, select No. If the Doesn't matter option is selected, the profile will work on all records without exception. When you have finished setting up the context, return to the Profiles tab by clicking the button and click the New task link. Enter its name, then add a new action. Select the category Audio > Silent Mode. In the Mode list, select Silence

Run an application at a given time

Previously, people could not imagine a morning without a fresh newspaper and a cup of coffee. The habit of drinking coffee has survived to this day, but instead of a newspaper, many people use a tablet. If you, too, start your day by reading the news or browsing your friend's feed, set up Tasker to automatically launch an RSS reader or other app at a given time.

Create a time context. In the From section, enter the time you usually get up. The time in the To section should be the same because the action must be performed once. Now create a new task and add the action Application > Launch Application. Select desired application from the list.

Turn off the ringer when turning the smartphone screen down

There are situations when the smartphone rings at the wrong time. Instead of apologizing to those present and looking for controls that turn off the signal, you can do it easier: create a profile that will put the phone in Silent mode when you turn the device upside down. Here's how it's done:

Add a new context State > Sensor > Orientation. In the Position list, select Screen Down. Return to the Profiles tab and click the New task button. Enter a name for the task, then add a new action. Select the category Audio > Silent Mode. In the Mode list, select Silence.

Note that the Orientation context allows you to work with a variety of device positions, including upright, left side, right side. However, the screen-down option is the most convenient - if you need to quickly respond to an unwanted call, you definitely won't miss.

Scheduled SMS sending

Why do people send SMS? Very often - to wish you a happy birthday, when you don’t want to call. And also - to tell your beloved before going to bed that she is the only one. In order not to forget to send SMS on time, you can assign the sending of important text messages at a given time to Tasker. Let's tell you more about how to do it:

Create a new profile and add the Day context. Specify the date the SMS was sent. Here you can select both days of the month and days of the week, select all dates or only even / odd

Add a new task and select the Phone > Send SMS action. In the Number field, enter the recipient's phone number. By pressing the button, you can search for a contact in the address book. In the Message field, enter the SMS text.

Now you need to specify the exact time the message was sent. To do this, you need to add a second context to the profile.

Return to the Profiles tab and click the button. click on the profile, and then touch the name of the date context and hold your finger for a while. Select the Add option from the menu and specify the Time context. Set the time to send the message. You can also set the SMS to be resent every few hours or every few minutes. To do this, check the Repeat checkbox and set the frequency of sending. Using the profile cloning function, you can set up automatic sending of greetings to friends and relatives. Highlight a profile by long clicking on it, click on the Clone link at the top of the screen, and then on the date context to change the date the message was sent. Go to the properties of the send SMS action and change the number to which the message will be sent.

Automatic answer to missed calls and SMS

Using variables, you can send automatic responses to calls and text messages when you cannot answer yourself (for example, while sleeping). To create such a profile, you need to use two contexts: Time and Event. To get started, select the Time context and specify the length of time you won't be able to reply to phone call. Now add a new task. Give it a name and add the action Phone > Send SMS. In the Number field, specify the %CNUM variable (thanks to it, messages will be sent to the numbers from which the calls came). In the Message field, enter the response text. Here you can write, for example, the following: “I'm sorry, but now I cannot answer your call. I'll call you back in the morning."

Return to the list of profiles. To add a second context, click on the name of the profile, and then touch and hold the line with the first context until a menu appears. Select Add and add the context Event > Phone > Missed call.

To create a profile designed to automatically reply to incoming SMS, clone the current profile. To do this, click on its name and hold your finger until the Clone button appears on the top panel. Make changes to your profile. Click the Missed Call context and click the Switch Event button. Select the context Text message received.

Now back to the list of profiles. Click the task, then click the send message action. In the Number field, change the value of the variable to %SMSRF. You can add its name manually or click on the button and select SMS from number from the list of variables.

Turn off new mail notifications on weekends

Your smartphone is smart enough to notify you of new emails in email, but it clearly lacks the brains to think about whether you always want to receive these notifications. Maybe on weekends you would rather forget about work? Tasker will help you get rid of annoying reminders. Create a new profile and add the Day context. Click the Days of the month button and switch to the Days of the week mode. Select the days of the week you want to receive mail. Return to the list of profiles and create a new task. Add a Network > Auto Sync action. In the Install list, select Enable.

Now you need to create an output job. To do this, return to the list of profiles, touch the line with the task and hold your finger until the menu appears. Select Add Exit Task. Create a new task and add the same action: Network > Autosync. Now in the Install list, select Disable.

Receive notifications based on location

Despite the fact that our life is unthinkable without electronic organizers and shopping lists, there are things that we constantly forget about. To get a reminder exactly when you need it most, you can use the Place context. He works in conjunction with google maps. Select on the map the location of the store where you constantly forget to buy chocolate bars for your child. Set the value of the Radius parameter to 50-100 meters. Click on the Capture button to indicate the location on the map. Coordinates can be determined using GPS or a network signal. The first option is more accurate, but the second one uses the battery more economically.

Create a new task and add the action Phone > Send SMS. Enter your phone number in the Number field. In the Message field, enter the reminder text.

What is Tasker? This is a smartphone automation tool that allows you to program the device's response to a particular system and not so event. Tasker, for example, can react to turning the smartphone upside down and turn off the sound in response. It can work when the level drops to 30% and switch the smartphone to 2G mode. With Tasker you can program turn on GPS in response to launch google apps Maps or turn on flight mode at night.

Almost any system event related to sensors or device status can be used by Tasker to launch an action, application, display information on the screen, or generate dialog boxes with various elements management. In terms of features, Tasker has already turned into a full-fledged visual programming environment, which can be extended with numerous plug-ins available in the market.

Do you want to create your own voice commands? No problem, there is an AutoVoice plugin in the market. Need the ability to automatically remote control another device or PC? For this there is AutoRemote. What about access to low-level Android settings? Secure Settings is at your service.

How Tasker works

As I said earlier, the principle of Tasker is based on the reaction to certain events and changes in the state of the smartphone. In Tasker terminology, they are called context. A particular task, which consists of one or more actions, can be attached to the context. An action can be anything from launching an application to changing certain settings. In the event that we are talking about a long-term context (from nine in the morning to five in the evening, location, etc.), and not a single event (launching an application, for example), there may also be an “output task” that will work after the context ends.

Together, the bundle of context, task, and sequence of actions is called a profile. Immediately after launch, Tasker will prompt you to create the first profile - click the "plus" at the bottom of the screen and select the desired event or context (for example, time). Next, he will offer to bind a task to it, give it a name and define the necessary actions. Once the actions are defined, the profile will become active. At any time, you can export the profile and put it on the web so that others can use it.

In addition to profiles, contexts and tasks, Tasker has the concept of a "scene". It's kind of scripted dialog boxes with buttons, sliders and other elements android interface. A scene can be created using the visual editor, located on the third tab of the main Tasker screen, and then associated with contexts and tasks, thus obtaining an almost full-fledged application. With the help of Tasker App Factory, it can be packaged into an APK package and uploaded to Google Play.

The set of actions built into Tasker can be significantly expanded with the help of third-party plugins, which, in huge number available on Google Play. I have already mentioned some of them above, others we will consider later. Tasker plugins are bundled with many well-known applications, so you can automate them too. In particular, Tasker is able to manage applications such as Screen Filter, Rsync Backup, Folder Sync, DashClock.

In its work, Tasker uses two key features Android: messaging and the open nature of the OS. Unlike many other operating systems, Android components are almost unrelated to each other and use a messaging system to communicate. Messages can either be intended for a single application/class, or they can be broadcast in nature (broadcastIntent), which allows them to be received by any installed application.

Broadcast messages are used in Android for tasks such as notification of applications about system events: low battery, enable/disable GPS, receive SMS, and so on. Initially, all this was invented for a more harmonious work of the system and third-party applications, but Tasker uses such messages to implement the idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"context".

In addition, Android is quite open to third-party applications, allowing them, among other things, to control the brightness of the display, turn on certain settings, launch applications on their own, and much more. This feature of the OS allows Tasker to implement the idea of ​​"tasks" and "actions", and together with the concept of "contexts" they form "profiles", that is, sets of actions that are performed in response to a system event.

on iOS and Windows phone an analogue of Tasker cannot exist due to the low awareness of applications about system events and serious restrictions on system management from third-party applications.

Must have profiles

Let's start with the simplest, but often vital profiles. You can create them in a few seconds, and there will be many benefits. Here are the ones that I used in one way or another at different times.

In terms of capabilities, Tasker has already turned into a full-fledged visual programming environment.

• With the help of Tasker App Factory, profiles can be packaged into an APK package and uploaded to Google Play
• There are dozens of variables that allow you to get the most different information, starting from the Bluetooth status and ending with the current processor frequency

1. Swipe control

Some branded firmware already has a swipe control function that allows you to switch songs or answer a call by shaking your smartphone. Of course, similar functionality can be repeated using Tasker. Here is the setup algorithm:

This is a profile description that will turn off the screen after shaking the smartphone in the hand to the left-right (Axis: Left-Right). As a task, you can bind any other actions available in Tasker. For example, "Audio -> Speakerphone" or "Phone -> Start a conversation". You can also set up the launch of the application using "Application -> Launch Application".

2. Turn on night flight mode

There is no point in keeping your smartphone on at night. On the other hand, automatic switching on in the morning cannot be configured either (this function is only available in Chinese smartphones), but you can set the flight mode for the night. To do this with Tasker, you will have to install the Secure Settigs plugin (starting with Android 4.2, Google blocked the ability to control airplane mode third party applications), and then configure the profile like this:

To select an action in the plugin itself, click on the pencil icon next to the "Configuration" inscription. Instead of Airplane Mode, you can use "Audio -> Silent Mode" to enable silent mode.

3. Launch the player when headphones are connected

One of the most popular profiles. Configuration:

You can also add an additional action to the task that controls the volume (Audio -> Playback volume).

4. Brightness control

On individual devices that you don’t often take out to the street (for example, tablets), it is more convenient to adjust the brightness manually. And even more convenient with Tasker. On my tablet, for example, there are two profiles:

In the daytime, the brightness is set to a third of the maximum (the maximum is 255), in the rest of the time - to the minimum. Naturally, automatic control brightness should be turned off.

5. Run USB teaser when connected to PC

Ideal for those who often spend time away from home with a laptop over their shoulder. Very simple and useful profile:

6. Saving energy when reaching 30 percent battery level

To be honest, I'm not a fan of such energy saving methods, but many, as they say, like it. The point is to force the smartphone to automatically turn off 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi and set the minimum display brightness when a critical charge level is reached.

Context: State- & gt ; Charging level- & gt ; from 0 to 30 A task: Screen- & gt ; Display Brightness - & gt ; 0 Network- & gt; Mob. data-> Only 2G Network- & gt; StatusWi - Fi - & gt ; Switch off

7. Automation based on location

Obviously, depending on your location, the smartphone should act differently. For example, while away from home, the lock screen pin and GPS must be enabled, while Wi-Fi can be disabled. At home, you don’t need a lock pin, but you need Wi-Fi and a high ringer volume (so that you can hear your smartphone connected to the charger while in the kitchen). At work / school, it is better to turn on the vibration mode, and in some cases, set up an automatic response to SMS.

Tasker has at its disposal several ways to determine the location. This is information from GPS satellites, information from cell towers, the fact of connecting to a Wi-Fi network with a certain name, or even being near such a Wi-Fi network. The most economical and versatile of them is information from towers, however, if the network coverage is not too dense, they can provide inaccurate information with a spread of several kilometers. In this case, it is better to use orientation by Wi-Fi networks. Even in an always-on state, Wi-Fi is much more economical than a GPS module that will not be able to sleep if it is constantly pulled by Tasker.

Context: state- & gt ; network-> Wi - Fi - networks - & gt ; network name A task: Audio > Ring volume - & gt ; 7 Network- & gt; Autosync- & gt ; Switch off Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > System + Actions - > GPS - > Off Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > Root Actions - > Wireless ADB - > On Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > Dev Admin Actions - > Password / Pin - & gt ; Disabled

What this profile does: Sets the maximum ring volume, disables auto-sync (why get email notifications at home?), disables GPS, enables ADB over Wi-Fi (to control your smartphone from a PC), and disables pin code. The following profile for the street:

Context: state- & gt ; network-> Wi - Fi - networks - & gt ; "if not" A task: Audio > Ring volume - & gt ; four Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > Root Actions - > Wireless ADB - > Off Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > Dev Admin Actions - > Password / Pin - & gt ; Enabled

The profile sets the opposite settings to the "Home" profile. Latest profile "At work/study":

Context: State- & gt ; Network- & gt; ConnectedWi - Fi - networks - & gt ; Network name A task: Audio > Silent mode- & gt ; Vibration Network- & gt; Autosync- & gt ; Turn on Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > System + Actions - > GPS - > Off

Here vibration is turned on instead of a call, synchronization remains on, GPS is turned off. In some of these profiles (especially the last one), it will be more convenient to use cell tower orientation. To do this, it is enough to replace the context with "Place". The map will open and you can select the exact location and context trigger radius on it. Turn off the GPS button at the bottom.

7. Homemade anti-theft

In the market there are a lot of different applications to protect against theft of a smartphone. In no case will I insist on removing them and replacing them with Tasker, but simply showing how to replicate the same functionality with the ability to fine-tune it to your own needs. It is very easy to do this. Here is a simple profile.

Context: Phone- & gt ; Receivedtext. message-> Type: SMS , Sender: "+ 7...", Content: "locate" A task: Plugin- & gt ; Secure Settings - > System + Actions - > GPS - > On Task - > Wait- & gt ; 30 seconds Miscellaneous- & gt; Get coordinates - & gt ; Source: any Phone- & gt ; Send SMS - > Number: "+ 7...", Message: "Date : % DATE % TIME . Battery : % BATT . Location: %LOC"

At receiving SMS from the number +7… with the message “locate” the smartphone will turn on the GPS, fall asleep for 30 seconds (so that the smartphone can find satellites), receive the coordinates and send them to the specified number in the following format: “Date: date time. Battery: percentage of charge. Location: coordinates. To get the exact location on the map, it will be enough to drive the coordinates into Google Maps.

Please note that we used variables to form the SMS. They are installed and updated by Tasker itself, so variables can be used in any text field within the application. In addition to those listed here, there are dozens of other variables that allow you to get a variety of information, from Bluetooth status to the current processor frequency (their description can be found).

The profile can be extended and modified to send an SMS every five minutes (to do this, you can use the "task -> for" action that implements a loop), enable the lock of the smartphone using a pin, as shown in the previous example, force the smartphone to call the desired number (Phone - > Call), take a picture (Media -> Snapshot) and send it via MMS (Phone -> Create SMS). You can optionally create a web application and communicate with it using HTTP POST and GET (Network -> HTTP Post)!

8. Voice control

Google has an excellent voice analyzer that only works with Google Now by default. But we can also use it to create profiles for Tasker, having the ability to launch the actions we need using our voice. To do this, you need a $1 AutoVoice plugin and just a little savvy. The simplest example profile using AutoVoice will be like this:

question of life"

Task: Signal- & gt ; Emergency Message- & gt ; Text: "42"

This profile will work when AutoVoice recognizes the phrase "Answer to the main question of life." To start the recognition mechanism itself, you can use the AutoVoice widget, which displays the standard dialog "Speak ..." and, based on the recognition results, launches the desired profile. Another way is to create a new profile that will work, for example, when the screen is unlocked and will launch the "Plugin -> AutoVoice Recognize" action. In this case, the dialog will be displayed automatically.

Even more interesting way AutoVoice is a "always on" mechanism that works as long as the smartphone's screen is on. In this case, commands can be spoken at any time, and if AutoVoice recognizes them, the desired profile will automatically work. To enable "continuous recognition", you need to enable access to external applications in the Tasker settings (Settings -> Miscellaneous -> Allow external access), and then enable the "Continous -> Toggle Listener" setting in AutoVoice. Disadvantage of the method: constant data exchange with Google (or the need to switch to an offline speech recognition engine).

• AutoVoice is application dependent Google Search and refuses to work without it.
• AutoVoice is able to integrate with Google Now. To get it to do this, you need to install the Xposed framework and download the Google Now API through the AutoVoice settings.
• Tasker can be linked to a Minimalistic Text widget to display custom information on it.

9. Remote control

AutoRemote is another interesting plugin from the author of AutoVoice. It allows you to control your smartphone remotely in many different ways, such as web interface, browser plug-in, Windows/Linux application, or using another smartphone on Android based or iOS. Using AutoRemote, you can create profiles that will be triggered when a signal is received from outside, or generate such a signal as a result of some system event. Two copies of AutoRemote installed on different devices, will allow them to exchange information automatically, including the ability to send notifications, messages and activate certain functions on one smartphone in response to an event on another.

I’ll warn you right away that the cost of the plugin is four dollars, but there are also free version, the only limitation of which is the length of commands up to two characters. In most cases, this will be quite enough to send commands such as “Turn off smartphone” or “Get coordinates” (one character is enough for this), but if it is possible to send notifications, receive information from a smartphone and organize something like a chat will have to splurge.

Like the plugin from the previous section, AutoRemote is also a complete application. After launching it, a link and a QR code will appear on the screen. The link can be opened in a browser to access the web-based smartphone management interface, and the QR code can be scanned by another smartphone with AutoRemote installed and link the two gadgets to the network. Then you can start using AutoRemote in your profiles.

> Notice- & gt ; Name: "SMS" , Text: "SMS received"

Now, when an SMS arrives on the smartphone, a notification will appear on the tablet. Having full version AutoRemote, profiles can be extended to include sender information and message text (%SMSRF and %SMSRB variables) in the sent message.

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Last updated by at November 18, 2016 .