[SOLVED] Cannot retrieve item 'Date'

Setup, Configuration and Use Beginners
1

Looks like showing the date in basicUI is not hassle free for a beginner that has a little knowledge about the linux system.

  • Platform information:
    openHAB 2.3.0-1 (Release Build)
    Release = Raspbian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch)
    Kernel = Linux 4.14.34-v7+
    Platform = Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Rev 1.2

  • Issue of the topic: please be detailed explaining your issue
    How to display the current time and date on the basicUI?
    Followed this: https://github.com/openhab/openhab1-addons/wiki/Explanation-of-Sitemaps#example to find out at the end that it’s not for this version but can’t seem to find a current solution for this.
    Looked everywhere on the web. Changed to nl_NL.utf8 in openhabian-config but think that is not working because this:
    OK (Europe/Amsterdam)
    2018-06-18_17:53:20_CEST [openHABian] Setting locale based on user choice…
    Generating locales (this might take a while)…
    de_DE.UTF-8… done
    en_GB.UTF-8… done
    en_US.UTF-8… done
    Generation complete.

It is probably something very simple but I can’t see it after looking at a whole lot of pages with info that is out of date. It took me a few hours to make the MQTT working and that looks great but this simple thing called the date is starting to be ridiculous.

  • Please post configurations (if applicable):
    • Items configuration related to the issue
      There are no DateTime items in my openhab home builder generated item file.
    • Sitemap configuration related to the issue
      Frame label=“Date” {
      Text item=Date
      }
    • Rules code related to the issue
      There are no rules files in my openhab home builder generated rules folder.
    • Services configuration related to the issue
      ?. Is there a service need to receive the date and time? Habpanel shows the correct current date and time.
  • If logs where generated please post these here using code fences:
    Cannot retrieve item ‘Date’ for widget org.eclipse.smarthome.model.sitemap.Text

Any idea of what to do next?
Ray.

2

It looks like you don’t have an item configured with the name “Date”. But you are trying to display that item:

So what you need is a DateTime item configured and linked to a channel or binding:

DateTime Date { channel="whatever your binding is" }

and a text item like you already have but with some format function (you could do the formatting also in your items label):

Frame label="Date" {
Text item=Date  label="Date [%1$td.%1$tm %1$tH:%1$tM]"
}

https://www.openhab.org/docs/configuration/sitemaps.html#concepts

3

Thanks for the response.
Is there a page/explanation to find about { channel=“whatever your binding is” }?

I had created this items files:
DateTime Date “Date [%1$td.%1$tm %1$tH:%1$tM]” { channel=“ntp:ntp:local:dateTime” }
But that only gives me a few dots and the calender icon.

4

Yes, there should be always a full example in the bindings docs:

Did you create the corresponding “Thing” for that channel?

Did you install the ntp binding?

5

Thanks.
That is it.
Just installed the NTP binding and it works.
Thanks again.
Ray

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