How to "convert" a sitemap item to an openHAB 4 item

[JustinG]

@lpn

How can I create an Item that can do this, if at all possible? Again, I don’t yet totally understand all the concepts. Maybe for this I do need to use sitemaps, but not sure if it will be compatible with Model/Pages.

There is some confusion about what exactly you are asking for because you appear to be mixing up terms. Note that in openHAB the word ‘Item’ has a very precise meaning as it is one of the functional units of the software. In OH an item is a construct that holds some piece of information. It looks like you already have the Item because the sitemap element you have showed refers to an Item named areaControl. Your site map element sends a command to that item based on which button you have pushed, and it seems likely, based on your description that the areaControl Item is linked to the channel of interest.

So, if you are really asking about creating an “Item”, then Rich’s advice is the path you want to follow.

If you are asking about creating a UI element for the MainUI that does the same thing as the Sitemap element you already have, then the answer is 1) yes it can be done, 2) there is no directly equivalent solution but there are many different options, and 3) it will take some understanding of the widget syntax and editing system. So, if you haven’t worked with widgets yet then you really should go through the Quick Start Tutorial and related pages:

Pages - Item Widgets

as well as the more detailed MainUI specific documentation:

Building Pages - Components & Widgets

This may also help while you are reading those:

openHAB Glossary

Perhaps it is just my years of experience teaching a vocabulary heavy subject, but it seems to me that many of the beginner questions that show up on the forums (and even some of the more advanced ones) result from struggles with all the terminology. Many beginning users stumble when attempting to use docs and even users who have read the help docs sometimes come away with only partial understanding unless they are already fully steeped in the language of openHAB. With the goal of alleviating …

The closest MainUI element to the mapped buttons on a sitemap is probably the segmented button which is a container that will hold multiple other buttons. In this, case you would then add one button for each of the commands that you want to send your Item:

- component: f7-segmented
  config:
    raised: true
  slots:
    default:
      - component: oh-button
        config:
          text: Regular Quick Arm
          action: command
          actionCommand: QA
          actionItem: areaControl
      - component: oh-button
        config:
          text: Stay Quick Arm
          action: command
          actionCommand: Qs
          actionItem: areaControl
      - component: oh-button
        config:
          text: Disarm
          action: command
          actionCommand: D111
          actionItem: areaControl

That segmented button defined above looks like this:

Another very easy option is a single button that when you click on it presents you with a menu of the different options:

- component: oh-button
  config:
    text: Menu
    action: options
    actionItem: areaControl
    actionOptions: QA=Regular Quick Arm,QS=Stay Quick Arm,D111=Disarm

This just presents as a button:

But when you click on it, it brings up a list of the options:

The MainUI system is so flexible that there are many other options as well, but these are the two easiest and most direct.