Adding zwave item to group fails via Paper UI and HABmin UI

Hi all,

for creating a chart with more than one item I need to add the temperature sensor item of my zwave sensor to the group that I want to show in the sitemap.

I learned from Chris Jackson that zwave items should not be configured using the items files but should be configured via the UIs. I am using the HABmin UI and successfully configured the sensors for temperature, humidity and batterie-level.

Now, I want to add the temperature sensor item to a group for a chart. I edit the the channel in the zwave sensor thing configuration in the HABmin UI. when pushing the “Save” button I get the response that HABmin saved changes successfully but in the karaf console the item shows no group attribute?

How can I add a zwave item to a group?

Thanks
Justus

Really - I’m not sure if said this? I would recommend configuring things via the UI as otherwise you can’t configure the device, but there should be no problem to configure items via an item file. Sorry if I somewhere said differently.

All items should be treated the same - the binding doesn’t know anything about your items - only things and channels. So you should be able to use any method you like - any problem configuring items shouldn’t be linked to a specific binding. (sorry - that’s not helping you solve the issue, but just trying to clarify as I don’t know what the issue is).

It is no fingerpointing it is just that I followed your advise in a different problem that I had in this thread:

https://community.openhab.org/t/how-to-set-zwave-properties-like-wakeup-time-in-in-things-file/36117

I must admit that I still do not completely understand the syntax for configuring the zwave things and items correctly as there is so much to be stored/configured like the encryption key, like the update intervals, etc … that is of course very comfortably done via the HABmin UI. I would prefer to do it in the files as such things like groups are then more easy to configure …

Ok understood the binding just knows the things and the channels. After your advice above to use the UI, I moved all the zwave configuration from the things and items files to the “UI” to be stored in the userdata JSON database … But I then had problems in the past configuring the things and channels (where the channels create the items) as I got an error storing the changes with Paper UI. Hence I switched to HABmin UI and the it worked.

Now, I have all the zwave configuration in the JSON database …

Is there a way to collect this existing zwave configuration information from the JSON database and create the appropriate things and items files from that? Unfortunately the documentation is very unspecific …

Cheers
Justus

Here are the configuration parameters of the sensor which I like to configure via the things file when switching from UI configuration to files:

For the USB Controller it would be the following to parameters:

  • Default Wakeup Period
  • Heal Time

The items file is then no big deal … I think I know how to configure that …

In that thread I was referring to things - not items…

The parameters you mention here are all defined in the thing configuration - not item configuration. As mentioned previously, I recommend doing the thing configuration in the UI, but you can configure items in the text files if you like.

Groups are part of the item configuration, so it should be fine to do this in the item file if you prefer.

Not automatically.

Personally, I would recommend configuring things through the UI (for reasons I said in the other thread). If you want to configure items in an items file, then this should work fine. There is not a lot of configuration in ZWave channels (although there is some) so most of the item configuration is as per the OH documentation.

All of that said, there should be no issue saving groups in PaperUI or HABmin either if you want to stick with the UI…

Chris - Thank you for your patience!!! … I still collect the pieces :slight_smile: and I finally got the picture now!!!

I misunderstood you because of my lack of understanding and thought that there is no combination but either the file configuration or the UI way to configure and that for zwave this means the second way.

Ok, understood !!!

But one last question remains. When configuring the things you define the channels for thing also via the UI and there are two choices regarding the item to bind to: Either to create a new item or to choose an existing one from a list.

Do I understand it correctly that I can first create now the items file with items for temperature, humidity and battery-level containing the description, group and the channel information and when I then define the channel via UI, I then take the appropriate item (configured via item file) from the list and create the link? Right?

I do agree this is a bit confusing (ok, maybe even more than a ‘bit’ confusing :wink: ).

Yes - this should work ok (I think). The system will treat all items the same - if you define them in the files or through the UI. There should be no difference (other than you can’t edit things/items that are defined in a text file, in the UI).

I am happy that you see this the same way :smiley: and as long as you are so kindly support us we reach our goal :+1:

I will try and document it here. I consider myself still a newbie in openHAB and I must admit that the current documentation is not very clear and specific (not only in this area). I was wondering if it would make sense to find a way to update the online documentation …

What documentation do you mean?

If you refer to general OH documentation, then I’m sure that @ThomDietrich would welcome any updates :slight_smile: .

If you refer to binding documentation, that’s a more difficult thing to keep synched. A while ago, there was an attempt to create a template driven from the channel definition files. For ZWave, this is really something I’d like to do as there are a LOT of things and a lot of channels and keeping documentation consistent with the definition files is always a problem. Unfortunately, this seems to have lost interest for now, but this is something I would like to look at again at some point so we can create the documentation directly from the definition files…

Yes, I mean the general documentation :wink: . Thanks, I will contact him and offer to document my findings!

And your advise with things via UI and items via file configuration works !!!
Now it is well and clearly documented :slight_smile: … for newbies like me :stuck_out_tongue:

Cheers