Configuration

In earlier versions of this project, all configuration settings for the project were defined as constants at the top of the remind.py file. What this meant to users was that if I released an update to the prject source, any setting changes you made would be overwritten by the software update. That's not nice, is it?

For this version, I extracted all of the user-settable settings from the remind.py file (and added a few new ones) to the project's config.json file. That file doesn't exist right now because to include it in the project would simply create the same overwriting issue described in the previous paragraph. Instead, I included a files called config.rename that contains all the settings; to use it, you must use that file as a starting point for your settings for this project. You could rename the file to the required file name, but then you'd lose the original settings to use as a reference later. Instead, lets make a copy of the source file, then modify the copy. There's two ways to do this, you can use the graphical File Manger or commands typed in a terminal window.

To use the File Manager Open the Raspbian File Manager application (it's the one that looks like a folder) in the menu bar at the top-left corner of the screen. Navigate to the pi-remind-hd-notify folder then right click on the config.rename file and select Copy. Next, right-click on an open space in the same folder and select Paste. The File Manager application will warn you that there is already a file with the same name in this location, in the dialog that appears (shown below), simply rename the file to config.json and click the Rename button to complete the copy.

The other option is to open a terminal window, navigate to the pi-remind-hd-notify folder, and execute the following command:

cp config.rename config.json

With either approach, validate that you now have a file in the pi-remind-hd-notify folder called config.json. When you open the file, it will look something like this:

{
  "access_token": "YOUR_PARTICLE_ACCESS_TOKEN",
  "busy_only": false,
  "device_id": "YOUR_PARTICLE_DEVICE_ID",
  "debug_mode": false,
  "display_meeting_summary": true,
  "reminder_only": false,
  "use_reboot_counter": true,
  "reboot_counter_limit": 10,
  "use_remote_notify": true,
  "use_working_hours": true,
  "work_start": "8:00",
  "work_end": "17:30"
}

You can leave the file as is if you want, I tried to preload it with the most common options. The remaining sections describe each of the configuration options in detail; the following list provides links to each section:

• access_token
• busy_only
• device_id
• debug_mode
• display_meeting_summary,
• reminder_only
• use_reboot_counter
• reboot_counter_limit
• use_remote_notify
• use_working_hours
• work_start
• work_end

Calendar Settings

The configuration settings described in this section control how Pi Remind interacts with your calendar and how it displays calendar information on the Pi Remind display.

busy_only

Google Calendar supports two appointment status states: Busy or Free. If you only want to be notified of appointments that you've marked as Busy, set the value for busy_only to true:

"busy_only": true,

If you have appointments you've marked as Free but you want reminded of them, set busy_status to false.

"busy_only": false,

How I use this: If I know I'm not planning on attending a meeting, I decline the meeting so it doesn't even show up on my calendar. If I plan on attending the meeting, I Accept it and leave the status as Busy. For meetings I'm not sure I'm attending, I'll set the meeting status to Free then disable busy_status (set it to false) so Pi Remind notifies me of all appointments.

Note: Pi Remind automatically ignores all day meetings, so it only sees meetings that have start and end times.

display_meeting_summary

This setting controls whether Pi Remind displays the upcoming meeting summaries on the display during a notification. By default, Pi Remind displays the subject of every appointment when reminding you:

"display_meeting_summary": true,

If you have confidential appointments and don't want nearby eyes seeing who you're meeting next, or what you're meeting about, disable the feature using the following:

"display_meeting_summary": false,

With this configuration, Pi Remind will use the LEDs to flash a reminder for upcoming appointments, but won't display meeting subjects.

reminder_only

Another way some people manage their calendars is to set reminders for appointments they want to attend, and no reminder for unimportant or tentative meetings. By default, Pi Remind notifies you of all appointments through this configuration setting:

"reminder_only": false,

If you want to be reminded only for appointments that have a reminder set, configure Pi Remind using the following:

"reminder_only": true,

Note: Pi Remind ignores the reminder time, so no matter when you have a reminder set, Pi Remind will notify you of upcoming appointments starting 10 minutes before the scheduled start. Fixing this is planned for some future release of Pi Remind.

Remote Notify Settings

The biggest change for this version of the Pi Remind project comes from enabling support for the Remote Notify device from Fumbly Stuff.

The microcontroller in Remote Notify is a Particle Photon, an Arduino-compatible device that includes a cloud service that enables applications like the Pi Remind to remotely execute code on the device. In this case, that code sets the color for an illuminated LED on the device - Red for busy, Yellow for Tentative, and Green for free.

The settings described in this section describe how to configure Pi Remind to work with the device.

Note: As I write this, the Remote Notify device is still under development. Check the company web site for availability.

{
  "use_remote_notify": true,
  "access_token": "",
  "device_id": "",
  "use_working_hours": true,
  "work_start": "8:00",
  "work_end": "17:30"
}

use_remote_notify

By default, Pi Remind disables support for Remote Notify using the following setting:

"use_remote_notify": false,

When you have a Remote Notify device configured and operational on your local Wi-Fi network, enable it in Pi Remind using the following setting:

"use_remote_notify": true,

Pi Remind requires a couple of settings in order to be able to communicate with the Particle Cloud service: access_token and device_id. Enabling Remote Notify support doesn't complete the configuration.

access_token

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device_id

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use_working_hours

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work_start

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work_end

Chislic beef turkey, biltong ham venison brisket beef ribs picanha alcatra leberkas shank jerky. Ribeye tongue pork bacon buffalo salami biltong doner pancetta, beef ribs pork chop turkey chuck t-bone. T-bone kielbasa beef sausage fatback. Spare ribs porchetta swine jowl alcatra turkey. Beef ribs tenderloin landjaeger meatloaf, ham beef ribeye sausage bresaola spare ribs buffalo alcatra chislic turkey.

General Settings

use_reboot_counter

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Diagnostics & Troubleshooting

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debug_mode

debug is cool because it outputs everything the app is doing Since the Google Calendar uses it as well, you get output from that library as well

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`use_reboot_counter

Chislic beef turkey, biltong ham venison brisket beef ribs picanha alcatra leberkas shank jerky. Ribeye tongue pork bacon buffalo salami biltong doner pancetta, beef ribs pork chop turkey chuck t-bone. T-bone kielbasa beef sausage fatback. Spare ribs porchetta swine jowl alcatra turkey. Beef ribs tenderloin landjaeger meatloaf, ham beef ribeye sausage bresaola spare ribs buffalo alcatra chislic turkey.

reboot_counter_limit

Chislic beef turkey, biltong ham venison brisket beef ribs picanha alcatra leberkas shank jerky. Ribeye tongue pork bacon buffalo salami biltong doner pancetta, beef ribs pork chop turkey chuck t-bone. T-bone kielbasa beef sausage fatback. Spare ribs porchetta swine jowl alcatra turkey. Beef ribs tenderloin landjaeger meatloaf, ham beef ribeye sausage bresaola spare ribs buffalo alcatra chislic turkey.