This is Tasker. It is the greatest app your Android will ever see. In short, it allows you to create user scripts that can make your phone do all sorts of funky things, the only limit being your imagination*.
Lifehacker has a number of handy scripts, as does their wiki (my favorite so far is the phone locator). Of course, there is so much more you can do with the app and as I know there are a few Tasker users here, I figure we can use this thread to share some of the profiles we’ve cooked up. I’ll update with one of my latest ones in a minute, but I wanted to get this thread out there so people could start contributing.
My latest profile is something I call “Movie Mode,” though really it could be used for any DND situation.
What it does
[indent]Sets up a desktop icon that, with a press turns Movie Mode on or off. While in Movie Mode, the phone switches to vibrate and will automatically reject any incoming calls and reply to the caller with a text message saying (in my case): “[Automated Message] I’m in a movie and can’t pick up right now. I’ll call you back as soon as I’m out. Thanks.”
If RenderFX still worked with Tasker, I’d also have it turn on the Red render, in case you need to check your phone for whatever reason and don’t want to light up your whole row.[/indent]
How to set it up
[indent]This one has two key elements: the first is the task that sets Movie Mode, and the other is the profile that rejects incoming calls and replies with a text message. First, the Movie Mode task. This uses the MOVTOG variable to set the state of Movie Mode (on or off) and sets silent mode accordingly.
1 If %MOVTOG = 0
2 Popup “Movie Mode ON” (optional: time 1, font size 12)
3 Silent Mode “Vibrate”
4 Variable Set %MOVTOG to 1
5 Goto Action 10
6 End If
7 Variable Set %MOVTOG to 0
8 Popup “Movie Mode OFF” (optional: time 1, font size 12)
9 Silent Mode “Off”
10 Stop
Then, the profile to reject incoming calls. Create a new Event-based profile with the event as “Phone -> Phone Ringing” (priority normal, number blank)
1 If %MOVTOG = 1
2 End Call
3 Send SMS (number %CNUM, message whatever you want it to be)
4 End If[/indent]
And that’s it! The final step is to create a Task desktop widget that points to the Movie Mode task you set up at the start. Then, whenever you press your widget, Movie Mode will turn on or off. While turned on, your phone will reject incoming calls on the first ring and send out the SMS.
This is a pretty basic one that turns on the little desk clock app if my phone happens to be plugged in and turned on its left side (ie., I’ve got my kickstand up). The only catch is that the angled orientation of the kickstand isn’t enough to trigger the event, so I actually have to hold it at a 90º angle first to get the app to launch.
This one doesn’t even have a recipe. Just create a State-based profile with “Orientation: Left Side” as the first state. Then create a “Load App: Clock” task to go with it. Then go click on the left column (where it says Orientation) and add a second state, “Power: Any.” That will cause it to only launch Clock if the phone is both on its side and plugged into a power source. Now when you charge your EVO at your desk you can pop out the kickstand and have a handy little clock-slash-weather report right there.
Yes. You can set up entire strings of actions based solely on incoming numbers.
In fact the command is actually in my recipe above. Instead of leaving the EVENT -> PHONE RINGING -> Number blank, you put in the number of the person to check for. Then, when they call, you can have your phone do whatever you want–change ringer volume, flash, sing, dance, even speak aloud “[name] is calling you”
Tasker also allows you to trigger profiles with gestures, but I can’t think of anything that won’t make me look like some tool standing there waving his phone around. Plus I wouldn’t wanna accidentally trigger an event just because I swung my phone in the wrong direction absent-mindedly.
Still, it’d be kinda cute to map, say, END CALL to a motion of you hanging up the phone like a landline.
Came up with this one tonight, figured I’d share it.
What it does
[indent]One-press audio recording with no indication on the screen that recording is going on. I call it my “Just in case I get harassed by cops” button. Audio file is saved with the date/time stamp as the name.
Whether or not recording someone without their knowledge is legal depends entirely on local laws. If you use this to record someone illegally, you do so of your own free will.[/indent]
The Recipe
[indent]1 If %RECTOG = 0
2 Popup Rec ON (optional: time 1 font size 12)
3 Record Audio (see below)
4 Variable Set %RECTOG to 1
5 Goto Action 10
6 End If
7 Variable Sect %RECTOG = 0
8 Popup Rec OFF (optional: time 1 font size 12)
9 Record Audio Stop
10 Stop
Note about Step 3: long-press the File field to pull up a directory tree. Navigate to where you wanna save the files and then long-press folder icon to select it. Then tap the File field to get a cursor, and add “/%DATE - %TIME” to the end of it so it ends up looking something like media/audio/%DATE - %TIME
Set microphone for Source[/indent]
As you can see, it follows the same basic principle as the Movie Mode toggle, with the action being the operative difference. Then just save the action and add a widget for it on the desktop. Press it once to begin recording, and once to end recording.
Is there any way for Tasker to sync with your google calendar and know when you are ‘busy’?
I would like tasker to silence my phone automatically when my google calendar shows me as ‘busy’ (ie- I’m with a client), but other than that the phone will revert back to it’s normal noise making state.
Unfortunately, the only way to have profiles based on external apps is if someone writes a plugin for it. And since there are no Google Calendar plugins for Tasker (yet) I don’t think it’s possible.
However
There are still ways to make your phone all silent-y that, while not automated, are still pretty surreptitious. Like [b]this one[/b], which completely silences your phone if you flip it over and re-noises it if you flip it back up. If you were to couple it with my “Movie Mode” recipe up top, you could even have it autoreject calls while turned over and send the caller a “I’m in a meeting, I’ll call you back” text. Admittedly, it wouldn’t do anything if the phone were in your pocket, but it’s still something.
Actually, you can! Well, as long as it’s a google calendar, which is the case here. There’s a recipe for it on the Tasker Wiki. I just tested it, and it works:
So, I just wanted to say, even if you guys aren’t getting a lot of feedback in this thread, keep posting whenever you get a new idea. This is some cool stuff.
Yeah this is awesome-it’s like you can make your phone do whatever you wish it to do. So much better than my lame iPhone. I can’t even figure out if I can assign different ringtones (or even better, message tons) for different people.
