# OH3 oh-repeater scope set up by variable to prevent "Attempting to send a state update of an item which doesn't exist" **URL:** \ **Category:** Beginners\ **Tags:** widget, openhab3, oh-repeater\ **Created:** [August 23, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345 "2022-08-23T09:30:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/u/Mark_VG)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 9:30am UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/1 "2022-08-23T09:30:22Z")
Hi Everyone I have been working on my CADDX Generic Alarm Widget to try and clean up some errors as follows: ```auto 11:18:53.847 [WARN] [se.internal.SseItemStatesEventBuilder] - Attempting to send a state update of an item which doesn't exist: Partition5_Armed 11:18:53.847 [WARN] [se.internal.SseItemStatesEventBuilder] - Attempting to send a state update of an item which doesn't exist: Partition6_Armed 11:18:53.847 [WARN] [se.internal.SseItemStatesEventBuilder] - Attempting to send a state update of an item which doesn't exist: Partition7_Armed 11:18:53.847 [WARN] [se.internal.SseItemStatesEventBuilder] - Attempting to send a state update of an item which doesn't exist: Partition8_Armed ``` These are generated by the following bit of YAML: ```auto - component: f7-block config: style: --f7-button-text-color: var(--f7-text-color) --f7-button-bg-color: var(--f7-card-bg-color) --f7-theme-color-rgb: var(--f7-color-blue-rgb) top: 46% position: absolute width: 100% z-index: 999 class: - padding slots: default: - component: f7-row config: style: --f7-theme-color: var(--f7-color-blue) --f7-button-bg-color: transparent class: no-gap slots: default: - component: oh-repeater config: fragment: true for: partition in: - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 slots: default: - component: f7-row config: width: "10" slots: default: - component: oh-button config: tooltip-trigger: hover tooltip: '=!(props.tooltipEnable) ? false : "Apply Partition to current run"' bgColor: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? "gray" : (items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "ON") ? "red" : "green"' style: --f7-button-hover-bg-color: var(--f7-color-blue-tint) --f7-button-pressed-bg-color: var(--f7-color-blue-tint) border-radius: 12px text-overflow: ellipsis white-space: nowrap overflow: hidden z-index: 999 text: =["P" + loop.partition] fill: true textColor: white disabled: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? true : false' raised: false action: variable actionVariable: selectedPartition actionVariableValue: ='Partition' + loop.partition ``` Specifically the expressions: ```auto bgColor: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? "gray" : (items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "ON") ? "red" : "green"' ``` and ```auto disabled: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? true : false' ``` The reason is that though the alarm caters for up to 8 Partitions, there may only be 1 or 2 (in my case 4) configured and in use. I am trying to find a way to fix my expressions to not generate the errors when the missing Partitions are encountered. But I would still like the full 8 partitions to be displayed - with the extra ones just greyed out as disabled: ![image](https://community-openhab-org.s3.dualstack.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/e/3/e3c911954f4e19ecdede7e4c32a9b80d801eb7a1.png) I would appreciate any ideas on how to achieve this. Thanks Mark ---
**Author:** ![JustinG](https://community.openhab.org/user_avatar/community.openhab.org/justing/32/55948_2.png) [@JustinG](https://community.openhab.org/u/JustinG)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 2:58pm UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/2 "2022-08-23T14:58:41Z")
> [@Mark\_VG](#): > > I am trying to find a way to fix my expressions to not generate the errors when the missing Partitions are encountered. First off, these are just warnings and not errors. They do no harm, they are not indicative of any significant problem, and, you can very comfortably just ignore them and go on with your day. These warnings derive from the way the widgets work. It would be incredibly inefficient for the UI to send the complete list of items to every widget and update that with every item change when most widgets only need the information about a small handful of items. So, as each widget runs, it keeps a list of all the items that are accessed using the `items` object and just registers those items with the event stream listener in order to be able to track changes to the minimum number of items. If an item is referenced that doesn’t exist, the UI spits out this warning, sets the item’s values to `-`, and carries on perfectly happily. I suspect the original intent of this warning was just as a check to the widget developer to let you know where to find a potential malfunction in case you are expecting all of the items referenced in the widget to exist. The upshot here is that as long as you need to run a check about whether or not an item exists in a widget (i.e., there is a chance an item will not exist) you will get this warning. It is possible to work around this? Sure, I could conceive of a couple of different ways of refactoring this widget to not have to reference non-existent items. The problem is that all of them would be way more complicated and/or require extra pieces (possibly an additional rule, or proxy items…or both). Because this is just a warning this extra effort really isn’t worth it. If it really bothers you to see these in your logs it’s almost certainly less effort to edit your logging to filter them out. On an unrelated note: if you’d like to clean up the widget code just the tiniest bit, it’s not necessary to list out a number array like that in a repeater. Repeaters have a `range` option for `sourceType` which lets you specify a `rangeStart` and `rangeStop` property to get a numerical list like this. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/u/Mark_VG)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 7:07am UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/3 "2022-08-24T07:07:21Z")
> [@JustinG](#): > > out a number array like that in a repeater. Repeaters have a `range` option for `sourceType` which lets you specify a `rangeStart` and `rangeStop` property to get a numerical list like this. Thanks Justin. Once again your explanation etc. makes perfect sense. I guess I must just suppress my OCD tendencies You suggestion did however spark an idea that I tried. I set up a property for the range ```auto props: parameters: - default: 8 description: Numbers of Partitions in System label: Numbers of Partitions in System name: numberPartitions required: false type: TEXT ``` and then set up the oh-repeater as follows: ```auto - component: f7-block config: style: --f7-button-text-color: var(--f7-text-color) --f7-button-bg-color: var(--f7-card-bg-color) --f7-theme-color-rgb: var(--f7-color-blue-rgb) top: 46% position: absolute width: 100% z-index: 999 class: - padding slots: default: - component: f7-row config: style: --f7-theme-color: var(--f7-color-blue) --f7-button-bg-color: transparent class: no-gap slots: default: - component: oh-repeater config: fragment: true sourceType: range for: partition rangeStart: 1 rangeStop: =props.numberPartitions slots: default: - component: f7-row config: width: "10" slots: default: - component: oh-button config: tooltip-trigger: hover tooltip: '=!(props.tooltipEnable) ? false : "Apply Partition to current run"' bgColor: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? "gray" : (items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "ON") ? "red" : "green"' style: --f7-button-hover-bg-color: var(--f7-color-blue-tint) --f7-button-pressed-bg-color: var(--f7-color-blue-tint) border-radius: 12px text-overflow: ellipsis white-space: nowrap overflow: hidden z-index: 999 text: =["P" + loop.partition] fill: true textColor: white disabled: '=(items["Partition" + loop.partition + "_Armed"].state === "-") ? true : false' raised: false action: variable actionVariable: selectedPartition actionVariableValue: ='Partition' + loop.partition ``` When using the default value - 8 the plan works perfectly. However if I enter a value via Props the rangeStop expression seems to give an incorrect value - this is always 10x the value entered. If I use: ```auto - component: Label config: text: =props.numberPartitions ``` The output is the expected value entered? ![image](https://community-openhab-org.s3.dualstack.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/original/3X/b/7/b7aa300ad51b270a72653626cb23924e33952f4e.png) EDIT: Also, if I do not enter a value for the props - the default appears to be 10. And entering 0 produces the expected 0. EDIT 2: So it seems the following ALMOST works: ```auto - default: 8 description: Numbers of Partitions in System label: Numbers of Partitions in System name: numberPartitions required: true type: INTEGER ``` The problem is now that when I save the widget, exit the widget editor and go back in the `default: 8` has been changed to `default: "8"` which breaks the whole thing? Any ideas? EDIT 3: This seems to be specific to the Widget Editor. When the widget is called from a oh-cell etc the correct prop is used. ---
**Author:** ![JustinG](https://community.openhab.org/user_avatar/community.openhab.org/justing/32/55948_2.png) [@JustinG](https://community.openhab.org/u/JustinG)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/4 "2022-08-24T12:53:45Z")
Strange. Sounds like it’s time for a GitHub big report. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/u/Mark_VG)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/5 "2022-08-24T17:04:42Z")
Logged as : > > > \## The problem > When creating a widget using the built in widget editor, the val…ue for default in props is saved incorrectly as "8" instead of 8 when exiting and re-entering the widget editor. This causes unexpected results when using for example oh-repeater. > \`\`\` > uid: repeater\_range\_with\_props > tags: \[\] > props: > parameters: > - default: 8 > description: Numbers of Partitions in System > label: Numbers of Partitions in System > name: numberPartitions > required: true > type: INTEGER > parameterGroups: \[\] > timestamp: Aug 24, 2022, 3:40:02 PM > component: f7-block > config: {} > slots: > default: > - component: f7-row > slots: > default: > - component: oh-repeater > config: > fragment: true > sourceType: range > for: partition > rangeStart: 1 > rangeStop: =props.numberPartitions > slots: > default: > - component: f7-row > slots: > default: > - component: oh-button > config: > text: =\["P" + loop.partition\] > fill: true > textColor: white > \`\`\` > Works correctly and produces > !\[image\](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/84638697/186477032-00e80d2d-3dc7-474b-8f3a-6b4db07d22e2.png) > > However when exiting and re-entering the widget editor the code appears as: > \`\`\` > uid: repeater\_range\_with\_props > tags: \[\] > props: > parameters: > - default: "8" > description: Numbers of Partitions in System > label: Numbers of Partitions in System > name: numberPartitions > required: true > type: INTEGER > parameterGroups: \[\] > timestamp: Aug 24, 2022, 6:51:52 PM > component: f7-block > config: {} > slots: > default: > - component: f7-row > slots: > default: > - component: oh-repeater > config: > fragment: true > sourceType: range > for: partition > rangeStart: 1 > rangeStop: =props.numberPartitions > slots: > default: > - component: f7-row > slots: > default: > - component: oh-button > config: > text: =\["P" + loop.partition\] > fill: true > textColor: white > \`\`\` > And results in: > !\[image\](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/84638697/186477309-38e3c7a8-7591-4af3-95c8-09b978816a67.png) > > There are 10x the number of members to the repeater that there should be. I have also noticed that if the default value is left off, there are 10 repeater members by default. > > The end result is that the default value in this case has no effect. > > \## Expected behavior > > I would expect that the default value is saved in the format: > \`\`\` > props: > parameters: > - default: 8 > \`\`\` > and not: > \`\`\` > props: > parameters: > - default: "8" > \`\`\` > Which seems to be the case for anything other than numbers. > > \## Steps to reproduce > > Save the above widget in widget editor. This will be done with the "8". The result will be an 80 member loop. > > Edit the Properties and change the default value to be 8 (with no ""). The resultant repeater will have the expected 8 members. > > Exit and re-enter the widget editor and see that the default has been reverted to "8" with the 80 member repeater. > > \## Your environment > openHAB 3.4.0.M1 ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mark\_VG](https://community.openhab.org/u/Mark_VG)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://community.openhab.org/t/oh3-oh-repeater-scope-set-up-by-variable-to-prevent-attempting-to-send-a-state-update-of-an-item-which-doesnt-exist/138345/6 "2022-08-25T05:34:43Z")
Response from Yannick Schaus on Github: Prop parameters are serialized as `ConfigDescriptionParameter` in the JSONDB and thus default values are always Strings: > **[ConfigDescriptionParameter (openHAB Core 5.1.0-SNAPSHOT API)](https://www.openhab.org/javadoc/latest/org/openhab/core/config/core/configdescriptionparameter#getDefault())** > > declaration: package: org.openhab.core.config.core, class: ConfigDescriptionParameter So it’s not an issue with the UI per se - not necessarily unfixable but this is the wrong repo. You could use: ```auto rangeStop: =Number.parseInt(props.numberPartitions) ``` in your `oh-repeater`. This works nicely