Visual script editor, the ability to fully automate the device, great amount action

Complicated interface, no official manual

Tasker is an application for Android that can radically change and supplement the functionality of a tablet or smartphone. Unlike analogues like and, the application has more extensive capabilities. Such superiority is achieved at the cost of interface complexity, but at the same time, the tool can be called best app for automation.

The application was developed by Crafty Apps EU. We must pay tribute to the developers - their creation can be deservedly called the most functional application for Android. The user can program the operation of his device to such an extent that a smartphone or tablet in automatic mode will do all the work on its own.

Interface and features

The functionality of the application is based on a simple scheme consisting of two components: if an event occurs, then a certain action is performed. Behind the simple formula lies a difficult scenario setup. The application is divided into three tabs. Profiles - this contains a list of conditions according to which an action will occur. Tasks are actions that need to be linked to profiles. Scenes is a visual automation editor that makes it easy to create automation chains.

At the same time, the first section of the conditions (profiles) contains several tabs that are responsible for a certain indicator event, which subsequently activates an action: an action has taken place with the device (a usb cable is connected, the percentage of charge has decreased, etc.), some application, a certain day of the week or exact time comes, the user approaches a place on the map (adjusted by GPS and range). At the same time, almost any action can be assigned to signs.

For example, when you enter your home, Wi-Fi will turn on, and when you arrive at work, your smartphone will go into silent mode. These are just the most basic scenarios. Having understood the terminology and structure of the application, you can create entire schedules according to which the device will congratulate your friends and relatives at a certain time, call the right contacts under the selected conditions, and much more - it all depends on the needs and imagination of the user.

Features of Tasker for Android:

• Possibility of full automation of the device;
• 6 profiles;
• An infinite number of actions;
• Visual script editor;
• Availability of a test version of the application.

The application is paid, but due to its complexity and specificity, the developers have made a seven-day free test version. The developers placed a link to the Trial version in the description of the full application. While the application is very complex, official documentation And there are no manuals for it. Therefore, the user needs to independently understand the processes, or read amateur instructions.

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 points WIFI access) 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 elements user interface 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
• Answering an incoming call ("pick up the handset")
• Silent control
• Screen settings management: brightness, incl. regime automatic brightness, 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
• Getting information about network connection(connection type, availability of access to mobile transmission data), about parameters WIFI networks(adapter MAC address, signal strength, access point name), Bluetooth, Ethernet
• Setting device name in bluetooth network
• Enabling and disabling various modes of 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 specific 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)
• remount partitions on internal or external map memory
• 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, 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 graphical 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 turn on wifi in settings
• webview - view web pages ( standard means android)

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 installed background picture 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)

On an Android smartphone, you often have to perform routine actions - turn on Wi-Fi when you get home, open the media player when you connect a headset, or turn down the volume at work. Vesti.Hitech offers a software review that will make life easier by taking on these tasks.

Recall that Android, compared to iOS, gives developers and users much more freedom, you can do almost anything with it. Nonetheless, later versions operating system Google (4.0+) impose restrictions on automation tools. For example, to use the GPS functions to the fullest or switch between 2G and 3G networks, you need Android 2.3 or higher (or CyanogenMod firmware), and Jelly Bean prohibits volume control. Of course, the frames directly related to system functions can also be bypassed, but for this you need to get root access to the device.

In addition, this kind of programs are quite complicated for an ordinary user - not everyone will figure out the intricacies of setting up numerous rules, triggers and other algorithms. And yet, after spending a couple of hours on them, you can almost completely customize the smartphone to your needs and save much more time.

For example, one of the users, using the powerful Tasker utility, made it so that when driving up to the dacha, Android itself called the desired number to open the gate with remote control. In this case, you can not touch the gadget at all. And the user of another application, Llama, uses it like this: "I come home - the program turns on Wi-Fi and changes the profile to "Normal". I leave the house - the program turns off Wi-Fi and turns on the profile" Loud ". At 23:30 turns off the module GSM (why wind up the battery at night?), turns on GSM at 6:30. sound alerts disabled until 11 am. "So the possibilities of "automators" are limited only by your imagination.

Tasker, which we have already mentioned, is the most feature rich tool. The utility interface is divided into three parts: Profiles ("Profiles") - here is a list of conditions according to which some action must be performed, Tasks ("Tasks") - the actual actions that are associated with profiles, and Scenes ("Scenes"). ") - visual editor of automation processes (may be useful if you create applications yourself).

There are 6 types of profiles: if the application starts, a certain day of the week comes, the exact time or some event, if the user approaches a point on the map (you can set the radius and turn off GPS to save battery) or something happens to the smartphone, it changes orientation, USB cable is connected, charging drops. The actions can be almost anything (search the web, send an SMS, make a call, open a file, and much, much more).

Unfortunately, there is no complete documentation for Tasker, and it has not been translated into Russian, so be prepared to master the utility yourself. It is distributed for almost 100 rubles. Before paying, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the free trial version (up to 7 days), which can be downloaded from the developer's website.

Developer: Crafty Apps;
Rating Google Play: 4,6 (13 284).

"Automator" tied to geolocation. Define a zone (home, work, dacha or any other places), specify a profile (silent, loud, quiet or create your own) and associate events with them at the desired time interval. In general, the principle of operation of Llama is similar to Tasker: it can perform actions (lock the screen, switch to silent mode, "kill" all processes, launch the program, restart, reduce the brightness of the display, etc.) based on the time of day and day of the week, battery level, calendar events, headset connections, etc.

Compared to Tasker, there are fewer tasks available in Llama, but there are two indisputable advantages: the utility is localized, and there are predefined events (for example, "Silent night" - in the "Home" zone between 22:00 and 06:30 it changes the profile to "Quiet "). Calculates location not from GPS, but from tower signals cellular communication and Wi-Fi hotspots.

Required android version: depends on the device;
Developer: KebabApps;
Google Play Rating: 4.7 (8,525).

It stands out from the background of other utilities with its simplicity and clarity. The start screen shows two sections: "My Rules" - a list of personal triggers / actions, and "Rules Store" - from here you can download ready-made scenarios created by other users (turn off GPS when loading maps, turn on vibration after full charge batteries, activate Bluetooth in the car, etc.).

After installing AutomateIt, six basic rules are available to users - turn down the volume when connecting headphones, warn about low battery, turn off the sound at night, and others. The choice of triggers and actions is very large, almost like Tasker, and each is provided with a description in Russian. The basic functionality of AutomateIt is wide, but if you want, for example, to read sensor readings, add combined rules, take into account events from the calendar, you need to purchase a paid version (68 rubles)

Developer: SmarterApps Ltd;
Google Play Rating: 4.3 (2,360).

The main "feature" of AA is the ability to chain a sequence of various actions to an event. Supports rules that many other utilities do not have: if the SIM card is changed, you can record what is happening from your smartphone to a file, track the coordinates and send them to your email, or take a photo when you shake the device.

Everything else is simple. You create a "program", assign a trigger (a cross on the left) and an event related to it (a cross on the right). The Pro version (68 rubles) of Android Automate provides some advanced features and disables pop-up ads.

Android version required: from 2.2;
Developer: monkeysoft;
Google Play Rating: 3.4 (25).

Suitable if you do not want to create profiles from scratch, as in Tasker. You can choose and configure one of five ready-made ("Normal", "Meeting", "Quiet", "Night", "Outdoor"). For example, in the "night" mode, it is enough to arrange the switches as you need (vibration motor, speaker volume, contact white list, data transfer/Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, brightness, wallpaper, application launch, etc.).

Profiles turn on themselves if they match any of the rules. For example, if you want the outdoor mode (along with GPS) to turn on when you get into your car, add the Dock condition to the rule. A feature of the Profile Scheduler is the ability to determine the desired volume for a call or SMS received from each contact, regardless of the selected profile.

Android version required: from 2.2;
Developer: Wetpalm
Google Play rating: 4.3 (3,416).

The purpose of this program is to support NFC tags as triggers. You can stick a "smart" sticker on your desktop or car dashboard, and when your smartphone is next to it, remove it - the utility will perform a certain action. In Russia, a set of 5 NFC tags costs about 500-600 rubles.

What is important, the program allows you to do without them, using Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. For example, if your smartphone connects to your home or work network, you can change the sound profile, dim the display, lock the device, send a tweet, or check in to Facebook.

In the middle of summer, the number of applications in the official Google Play store reached one million. And perhaps the most functional among them is Tasker. Despite the fact that the application does not belong to the “Games” category, despite the fact that it requires a lot of time to master, it still remains consistently in the top of the most popular paid programs on Google Play.

The fact that Tasker has a huge audience of admirers is not surprising, because the application allows everyone to find their own ways to use it. Generally speaking, Tasker is an automation app. It is based on the idea that many of the actions that the user performs on his mobile device are, firstly, repeatable, and secondly, associated with certain events. For example, when you go to the theater or to medical Center, you turn off the sound on your phone, and when you are at home, turn on Wi-Fi on your tablet. Tasker can perform all such actions automatically, unloading the head of the owner of the mobile device for other, more important things.

Tasker isn't the only Android automation app, and many of its features can also be found in on(x), Locale, and the like. However, other applications as functional as Tasker do not exist. The program goes far beyond the usual templates - with some skills in using it, you can come up with almost any automation scripts containing many levels, and even create your own applications based on Tasker.

But when you download Tasker for the first time (a free trial version is available on the developer's website that works for seven days), you will most likely be disappointed. The application resembles a box with a designer, in which there are many different details. At the same time, not all parts fit together, and there are no ready-made use cases in the application.

Therefore, even in order to create the simplest chain of actions, you must first understand the terminology of Tasker and the principles of its operation.

⇡ Basic terminology

Seven basic terms are used to work with the application: tasks, actions, contexts, profiles, projects, scenes, variables. At the heart of any operations that the program is capable of performing is the formula: "If an event X has occurred, you must automatically perform Y."

Y in this formula is an action, something that the application automatically performs when certain conditions. The action can be sending an SMS, turning off the signal when receiving incoming calls, displaying a notification on the screen, and so on. In total, the application offers more than two hundred actions. Most of them have settings and can be linked.

X in the formula is the context, that is, some event or condition, when triggered, Tasker starts to act. The application provides several types of contexts: time, date, place, event, and state.

If the smartphone is outside the city, this is the context of the place, and 7:15 in the morning is the context of the time. The event context is, for example, an incoming call from a specified number. A state context is a condition that is active for some period of time. And during this time, the specified actions are performed.

Neither actions nor contexts exist on their own. Tasks manage actions, and profiles manage contexts. One task can contain any number of actions, and one profile can contain up to four contexts and up to two tasks. Thus, within a single operation, you can perform a whole set of actions.

Tasks can contain any number of actions and even be multi-level. Tasker provides an action that starts a task. Therefore, you can create a task that contains an action that starts another task. Tasks can be launched within a profile, as well as by themselves, for example, using widgets or shortcuts, through third-party applications.

The profile includes both contexts and tasks, and if several contexts are used in the profile, then only one of them can be the event context, because the simultaneous operation of two contexts at the same time is impossible. The profile has its own settings, with which you can select the task launch priority, turn on the “quiet” mode of operation (when information about the profile trigger is not visible in the Android status bar), specify the maximum number of its triggers, and select the minimum allowable period of time that can elapse between two launches.

Tasker also provides the ability to create user interface elements, which are called scenes here. The concept of a project is used to organize all tasks, profiles and scenes in one place, to export and create individual applications based on Taskler settings.

⇡ Getting Started

The first thing to do after launching Tasker is to switch to normal mode in the application settings. By default, it starts in beginner mode and has a simplified interface. On the corresponding tabs, you can create profiles, tasks, scenes and view a list of existing ones.

The orange lightning bolt icon at the top of the window is designed to quickly enable/disable all active profiles. Built-in search can be used to discover previously created tasks, profiles, scenes, application settings, as well as to get background information by program ( last chance only works online).

For example, let's create a simple profile that will automatically launch the Skype application when the headset is connected to the device. On the profiles tab, click on the button for creating a new application element and select the status context "Hardware → Headphones connected". In the Type list, select With Microphone to have the app only respond when a headset is connected.

Return to profile list and add to profile new task.

You will need to come up with an arbitrary name for it, say "Launching Skype". Add a new action to the task. For the convenience of organization, they are divided into groups, of which there are more than twenty.

Go to the "Signal → Menu" category. Now we need to set up the action. To do this, in the Items field, click on the button for adding a new item, and then click on the "Action" button. Select the category "Application → Launch application", and then select Skype in the list of all installed applications to be displayed on the screen.

The new profile is ready to use. By default, all newly created profiles in Tasker are enabled immediately after creation, so if you do not plan to work with it yet, use the switch next to the profile name.

All tasks created by the user are stored in the Tasks tab. They can be edited and also reused when creating new profiles. The list of available tasks is shown each time you add a task to the new profile. By the way, if the wrong task is accidentally selected in the list, you can quickly return to the selection window using the Switch Event button. A similar button - Switch State - is also displayed when adding a context.

If you want the profile to contain several contexts or tasks, just touch the context (task) already in it and hold your finger for a while. A menu will appear from which you can choose to add a new item. This menu also allows you to delete current elements, clone contexts (this is convenient if you need to add two contexts of the same type with slightly changed settings), change tasks to different ones.

⇡ Running tasks using the widget in manual mode

As mentioned above, tasks can be launched not only automatically, within profiles, but also at the user's request. One convenient way to manually launch is to create a task widget on the start screen. In this case, no conditions are required to run the compliance task.

To create a widget to launch a task, go to the list of Android widgets. Touch and hold Tasker until the widget is brought to the home screen. This will bring up the task selection menu. You can either choose from the existing ones, or create a new task. Tasker will then offer you the option to add additional actions to the task and select an icon to display the widget. After the setup is completed, it can be seen on the start screen.

Despite the fact that Tasker provides the ability to manually launch, the main purpose of the application is to perform tasks automatically. Therefore, let's consider examples of creating several popular profiles.

⇡ Enable power saving features when the battery is low

Some features of smartphones are convenient, but they greatly affect the battery life of the device. If there is no way to recharge your smartphone and you need it to work as long as possible, you can use Tasker to set up automatic shutdown some functions. For this, a state context and a task containing several actions are used.

Add context "Status → Charging → Battery level". In its settings, specify the charge level at which the task will work.

Create a new task and add the action "Screen → Display Brightness". Decrease the display brightness to the desired level. Go back to adding actions and add another one, like "Network → Change Wi-Fi Status". Make sure that the "Disable" option is selected in the action settings. Now Tasker will also turn off the Wi-Fi connection.

You can also disable auto-sync. To do this, add the action "Network → Auto Sync" and select the "Disable" option in the "Installation" list.

You can add other actions to help extend the battery life of your device.

⇡ Sound signal in case of battery overheating

Overheating of the battery can cause the device to fail, so it would be nice to know about it as early as possible in order to respond adequately. To create such a profile, the event context "Charging → Battery overheating" is used. The task used in the profile will include the action “Signal → Notification with sound”.

Customizing an action comes down to choosing sound file(this can be any audio file stored in the device memory or on an SD card, as well as a signal from the Tasker sound collection). You can also customize the display of a text notification on the device screen. The text must be entered in the "Name" field.

⇡ Send notifications based on location

If your device has a GPS module, you can use the Location context. It is very useful for the forgetful. For example, if you keep forgetting to go to the bank to pick up a new card, you can set Tasker to send you an SMS as soon as you are within five hundred meters of a branch.

The "Place" context works based on google maps. When you select it, you are required to specify the bank coordinates, as well as the context trigger radius. To receive an SMS with a reminder, you need to use a task with the action "Phone → Send SMS". In the "Message" field, write the reminder text, and in the "Number" field, add your own phone number.

The "Location" context can also work without GPS, using network settings. But the determination of the location in this case is less accurate.

⇡ Automatic reply to SMS and missed calls

To implement some actions in Tasker, variables are used. You can't do without them, for example, if you need to use your smartphone as an answering machine that sends messages to all numbers from which SMS were received or calls were received. Suppose that messages should not be sent around the clock, but only at a time when you cannot answer yourself: after hours and at night. To implement such a task in the profile, you need to use two contexts, since you need to create complex condition launch actions: "If I receive SMS while I am sleeping or relaxing with my family ...". By the way, it is impossible to create one profile that would be designed to answer both calls and SMS. Incoming calls and incoming messages are two separate event contexts, which, as we remember, cannot be used simultaneously in the same profile.

Add a "Time" context and specify the period of time during which it will be active. Now create a task with the action "Phone → Send SMS". In the "Message" field, write the text of the automatic response to SMS. In the "Number" field, enter the "SMS from number" variable. Now messages will be sent to the numbers from which the SMS was received.

After configuring the action, return to the list of profiles and add a second context to the profile - "Event → Phone → Text message received".

To add a similar profile to answer missed calls, you need to clone this profile, and then change some of its settings. Go to the "Text message received" context settings and change it to "Event → Phone → Missed call" context. Now go back to the list of profiles, go to the action settings and in the "Number" field change the variable to %CNUM. Messages will be sent to the numbers that called you.

⇡ Turning on silent mode when turning the smartphone screen down

With Tasker, you can set up your smartphone so that it will automatically go into silent mode at a specified time, and then return to normal mode. But situations in which a loud phone call is undesirable can also arise spontaneously. It is impossible to foresee them all, so it is better to stock up on a profile that will turn off the call when triggered simple condition: The device is upside down.

To create such a profile, add the context "State → Sensor → Orientation". In its settings, expand the "Position" list and select the "Screen down" option.

Create a new task with the action "Audio → Silent Mode". In the action settings, select Silence from the Mode list.

⇡ Conclusion

We have considered only a few of the most simple examples work with Tasker. But the program can be successfully used in hundreds of other cases. It can launch applications at a set time, pop up a music player as soon as you plug in your headphones, wish happy birthdays to all your friends and family by automatically sending SMS on the right days, wake up your loved ones with a romantic text in the morning, and do hundreds of other things. , which are sure to come to your mind as soon as you start using Tasker. Good luck learning!

By the middle of this year, official applications in the Google Play store has exceeded one million. One of the most functional applications today is Tasker. Despite the fact that this application belongs to the "Games" category, users need a lot of time to master it.

Tasker consistently occupies a leading position among paid software on Google Play.

The Tasker program has many admirers. This is not surprising, because this application allows each user to find their own way to use this application. Thus, Tasker is an automation application. This application is based on the following principle: all actions that a user performs on a mobile device can be easily repeated, and besides, all of them are associated with certain events. For example, when you find yourself in a hospital or in a theater, you turn off the sound on your phone. When you get home from work, you turn on Wi-Fi on your tablet. Tasker makes it possible to perform all such actions automatically. Thus, the owner of a mobile device no longer needs to burden his head with minor problems and has more time for important things.

The Tasker application today is not the only tool for automating processes on devices running on the operating system. Android system. The programs Locale, on(x) and others give the same possibilities. However, applications as functional as Tasker no longer exist today. With certain skills, using Tasker, you can set absolutely any automation scenarios that contain many levels. With Tasker, you can even create your own applications.

After the first download of Tasker (free trial version available on the official website of the developer company and available for seven days) you will most likely experience disappointment. The application is more like a box with a designer, which has many different parts. Not all details fit together. There are no ready-made scripts in the application. In order to develop even the simplest sequence of actions, the user will first have to understand the terminology of the Tasker application, as well as the principle of its operation.

Basic terms

To organize work with the application, the user needs to know the meaning of several basic terms: actions, tasks, contexts, projects, profiles, variables, scenes. All operations that can be performed using Tasker can be simplistically described as follows: if event X has occurred, you must automatically perform action Y.

An action can be automatically performed under certain conditions. The action can be sending an SMS message, displaying a notification on the screen, or muting the sound of an incoming call. Only about 200 different actions are available to the user. Most of them have settings that can be linked. In a given formula, X represents a context, a condition, or some event, upon occurrence of which the program automatically starts to act.

In addition, the program provides several types of contexts: place, time, date, state, event. If the action needs to be performed when the smartphone is outside the city limits, this is the location context. If an action needs to be performed at 8:15 every morning, this is a time context. An example of an event context would be an incoming call from a specific phone number, while an example of a state context would be a specific activity that remains active for some time.

Contexts and actions cannot exist on their own. Profiles manage contexts, and tasks manage actions. One task can contain any number of actions, and one profile can contain up to two tasks and up to four contexts. This means that within one operation, the user can set the execution of a whole set of actions.

Tasks can contain any number of levels and actions. Tasker even has an action that will start a task. You can create a task that includes an action that will start another task. Also, tasks can be launched within the same profile. Tasks can be launched on their own through the use of shortcuts, widgets and third-party applications.

The profile includes various tasks, contexts. If multiple contexts are used in a profile, only one can be an event context. Simultaneous operation of two contexts at once is impossible. The profile also has its own settings, with which you can select the task launch priority, enable silent mode, specify the maximum number of triggers, and the minimum allowable time interval between triggers.

Tasker also provides the ability to set user interface elements. In the application they are called scenes. A project is a concept that is used to organize all profiles, tasks, and scenes in one place. The project can be exported and created based on Tasker settings as separate applications.

Beginning of work

The first step after starting Tasker is to switch to the normal mode in the settings. By default, the program will start in novice mode. On the tabs, you can create tasks, profiles, scenes, and view a list of existing objects. There is a lightning bolt icon at the top of the application window. It is used to quickly disable/enable active profiles. The search function can be used to discover tasks, profiles, and scenes that have been created previously. Also, this button can be used to get information about the program, but this feature is only available online.

As an example, let's try to create a simple profile that will automatically enable the Skype application when a headset is connected to the device. To do this, on the profile tab, you must click the button to create a new application element and select the context "Hardware" - "Headphones connected". On the profiles tab, click on the button for creating a new application element and select the status context "Hardware → Headphones connected". In the Type list, select With Microphone to have the app only respond when a headset is connected.

Now you can return to the list of profiles and add a new task. You can use any arbitrary name for it. For example, "Launching Skype". Add a new action to the task. To ensure the convenience of the organization, they are divided into groups, of which there are more than 20 in total. Then go to the "Signal" - "Menu" category. Here you need to configure the desired action. To do this, click on the button for adding a new item in the Items field. Now you can click on the button labeled "Action".

After that, select the category "Application" and select "Launch application". After that, select Skype from the list of installed applications. That's it, the new profile is ready to use. All new profiles in Tasker are enabled by default immediately after creation. If you do not plan to use the newly created profile yet, use the switch located opposite the profile name. All user-created tasks are stored in the Tasks tab.

Tasks can be edited and reused when creating a new profile. Each time you add tasks to a new profile, a list of available tasks is displayed. If the wrong task was accidentally selected in this list, then you can quickly return to the selection window using the Switch Event button. When a context is added, a similar Switch State button is displayed.

If you want the profile to contain several tasks or contexts, you only need to touch and hold your finger on the task that already exists in it. A menu will be displayed in which you must select to add a new element. This menu also has the ability to delete current items and clone contexts. This is quite convenient when you need to add two contexts of the same type, the settings of which have been slightly changed.

Running tasks using the widget in manual mode

Tasks, as mentioned above, can be launched both automatically within a specific profile, and at the request of the user. One of the most convenient ways to manually launch is to create a widget of the desired task on the screen. In this case, no conditions are required to run the task.

In order to create a widget for starting a task, you need to go to the list of widgets. Touch and hold the item called Tasker until the widget appears on the home screen. The task selection menu will appear. You can choose from existing tasks or create a new one. Tasker will then prompt you to add more actions to the task and select an icon to use for the widget.

After all the settings are completed, you will be able to see this icon on the start screen. Tasker has the ability to manually launch, but still, the main purpose of this application is to perform tasks automatically. Consider the main examples that were used to create the most popular profiles.

Activate power saving mode when the battery is low

Many functions of smartphones are quite convenient, but at the same time they have a significant impact on the battery life of the device. If it is not possible to charge mobile device, you can use the Tasker app to set some features to turn off automatically. To do this, you need to use the context and the task, which will consist of just a few actions. Add the following context: "Status" - "Charging" - "Battery charge level".

In the settings, specify the battery charge level at which the task should be triggered. Create a new task, add the action "Screen" - "Display brightness" to it. Reduce the brightness to the required level. After that, go back to adding actions and add the following. You can select "Network" - "change Wi-Fi status". After that, make sure that the "Disabled" status is selected in the settings. After saving the settings, when the battery is low, Tasker will automatically turn off Wi-Fi.

You can turn off auto-sync. To do this, you need to add the action "Network" - "Auto Sync". In the "Installation" list, select the "Disable" option. You can also add other actions that extend the battery life of your smartphone.

Overheating buzzer

Due to overheating, the mobile device may even fail. It would be nice to learn about the possibility of overheating as early as possible in order to have time to adequately respond to this situation. To set such a profile, you can use the event context "Charging" - "Battery overheating". In the profile, you can use the task of the following type: "Signal" - "Sound notification". Setting the action will be reduced to selecting a sound. You can select any audio file that is stored on the SD card or device memory. You can also customize the display of a text notification on the screen. Enter text in the "Name" field.

Send notifications based on current location

If your mobile device is equipped with a GPS module, you can use the "Location" context for settings. For forgetful users, this is very useful feature. So, for example, if you keep forgetting to go to the bank and get a new card, you can set Tasker so that if you are near a bank branch, the program will automatically send you a notification. Context place can also function based on Google-maps.

To do this, you will need to specify the coordinates of the bank branch, as well as the context trigger radius. In order to configure the receipt of SMS notifications, you will need to use a task with the "Send SMS" action. Then enter the required text in the "Message" field and insert your phone number in the "Number" field. Location context can also work based on network settings. But at the same time, the location determination will be carried out with less accuracy.

Missed calls and automatic reply to SMS messages

To implement some actions in the Tasker application, objects such as variables can be used. You can’t do without them if you plan to use your smartphone as an answering machine that sends messages to all numbers from which calls were received or SMS messages were received. Let's assume that you want to send messages only from time to time when you yourself cannot answer, for example, at night or after hours. To implement such a job in a profile, you need to use two contexts. You will need to create a complex condition for triggering actions: "If I receive a message while I am working or sleeping, you need to do the following ...". By the way, you cannot use one profile for both answering calls and SMS. Receipt of messages and incoming calls are two different contexts. They cannot be used in the same way at the same time.

To set time limits, add the "Time" context and set the period of time during which the context will be active. After that, create the task "Phone" - "Send SMS". In the "Message" field, you must enter the text that will be automatically sent in SMS messages. After all the settings for the action have been completed, return to the list of profiles and add a second context to the profile "Event" - "Phone" - "Message received".

To create such a profile for answering missed voice calls, you need to clone the profile and then make some settings. To do this, go to the "Text message received" context settings and change them to "Event" - "Phone" - "Missed call". After that, you can return to the list of profiles and go to the action settings. Enter "%CNUM" in the "Number" field. The message will be sent to the same number from which the incoming call was made.