Wake on Timer in Thunkable X

design
#1

If I have looked for an answer, there was some discussion in Classic on this about running in background. My issue is I want a app to wake up at random intervals (circa 15mins) and ask the user to select from a work activity and then write that to firebase. I am doing a work activity analyser for a hospital in UK, it is a before and after study of implementing a new application for electronic prescribing and medicines administration.

I have got the sense of the application to work, but I find the timer does not wake the application from background. I understand Android doesn’t like it because of battery usage, but I don’t see that as an issue, as the app is sleeping and not running a GPS or suchlike.

Has anyone got any ideas how I can use Thunkable X to achieve this wake on timer issue?

All help greatly fully received.

Pete

#2

This does not sound like it could be possible in thunkable x, although, if you handed it out to users with android devices and use an android app builder to achieve this.

Then for the workers with iphones, if you could spare them an android device and let each worker have it for a day to use the app.

Im sure there are built in solutions or even extensions. Check out kodular, it is a fantastic android drag and drop builder, it works the very same as thunkable and ai2, only there are far more built in blocks and it supports the same extensions that thunkable and ai2 do (aix).

(edit)

you could have it so the person must have the app open the entire time but this could be bad for organic displays and screen burn in. There is a notifier in kodular that i believe can be operated by the device, so it could run in the background and send a notification every 15 minutes.

#3

Thx for that, guess will have to rethink, most of the staff have apple, so dont think android an option.

Pete

#4

Hi there,

Adding Push Notifications to your app could alert staff to open their app.

#5

OK will look at this, I see Apple allow local notifications, can the thunkers dvlp team put this on the plans for development?
Pete

#6

Hi there,
I think they will, but it may not is the most focussed
Thanks :slight_smile:

#7

Does this work in Apple Testflight? or do I need to be fully published on app store?
Pete

#8

This should work as soon as you install your iOS app, so if you download you project, click on the link and open it on your phone you should be able to test this out.

I haven’t tried this with test flight but the logic is the same, basically the only place you can’t test push notifications is in the Thunkable Live app.

Let us know whether or not that works for you.

#9

Thx for that. I don’t think one sign will provide what I need. The scheduling of notifications seems to limiting. I am trying to beep/vibrate at a person randomly approx very 15 mns for the working shift of 8hrs.

I have noticed app when on a screen with a list picker it seems to eventually time out and navigate to my start screen. Is this a feature/setting somewhere in Thunkable/mobile settings?

Pete

#10

If the screen is off/on and as long as the app is closed/shut down, notifications will come via onesingal.

Although if you need it every 15 minutes, as long as the app was running in the background, would sound not work? I know i used audio from a livestream and linked this in the web viewer and it played as long as the app was running in the background. You could set it to play a very irritating sound every 15 minutes, and that it doesn’t stop until the user opens the app.

I can check on this if you would like, to see if this would work.

#11

Hi, sorry been not well and now catching up. @eoinparkinson Could you give me apointer to your web viewer and livestream suggestion? thx Pete

#12

You must either host the live stream yourself or find a livestream streaming service. You could then go to a free audio library online, get a short beep file, and then in editing software like Premiere Pro, you can set this to play for 10 seconds, every 15 minutes, for how ever long you set it to be.

I tested an 8 hour one with every 15 mins it beeps for 10 seconds, although, for most free audio streaming sites, the max file upload is about 50MB, and after compressing this audio to the extreme, I could only get it down from roughly 500MB to 70 or so, I would need to run those numbers again though to confirm…

But remember, as it is a stream you can only at most pause and play it, or restart it. So if a beep goes off, it will run the full 10 seconds or however long you set it, and will end after 8 hours. But if someone loses internet connection or anything goes wrong, its basically game over. It is a viable solution though, the only one I see working, but definitely not the best that could be made.

#13

Why don’t loop the sound using repeat block,until have interact.

#14

Timers do not work in background, and i believe, neither does the sound component. I may be wrong on that though.

#15

Yes tried, they don’t, looks like back to Xcode
Pete