What is IFTTT? How to automate your blinds

If you have ever typed what is IFTTT into a search engine after spotting it in a smart home app, the short answer is this: it is a service that links apps and devices that do not know each other, so they can do things on their own. You set a condition and an action, and IFTTT takes care of the rest.

This guide explains how it works, what you need to get started and what you can automate on your blinds and windows if you use MySmartWindow, with examples that are already built and ready to switch on.

What is IFTTT and what is it for?

IFTTT stands for If This Then That. It is a connectivity platform that gives apps and services around the world a standard way to talk to each other.

The idea behind it is simple: everything works better when it is connected. Instead of opening a different app for every task, you build small automations that link two or more apps or devices, and you do it without writing a single line of code.

It can, for example, let a weather service tell your blinds what to do when it starts to rain, or send an alert from your window straight to your inbox.

How it works: applets, triggers and actions

Each IFTTT automation is called an applet. An applet is made of these parts:

• Trigger: the event that sets it off. This is the "if this".
• Action: what happens when the trigger fires. This is the "then that".
• Query: extra information added to the applet's result, so you can fine-tune it further.

You can build your own applets or switch on ones that others have already published. IFTTT has a free account and two paid plans, Pro and Pro+, with more applets and features. The current terms of each plan are on ifttt.com.

IFTTT with MySmartWindow: what you can automate

MySmartWindow is integrated with IFTTT. That means your blinds and windows can work as a trigger, when they report something, or as an action, when they receive a command.

Triggers: what your window can report

• Temperature: when the indoor temperature of the room where the device is installed goes above 30 °C or drops to 10 °C.
• Humidity: when indoor humidity goes above 70%.
• Air quality: when CO₂ or VOC gas levels are harmful to health.
• Opening and closing: when a window or door is opened or closed.
• Alert system: when it is armed or disarmed, when something is opened while alerts are armed, and when an impact or forced entry is detected.

Bear in mind that not every device carries the same sensors, so the triggers you can use depend on what you have installed.

Actions: what IFTTT can command

• Raise or lower the blinds in the whole home.
• Raise or lower the blinds in one room.
• Open or close the windows in the home.
• Open or close the windows in one room in the tilt position.

Queries: the exact reading at any moment

Queries read a device's open state, tilt state, temperature, humidity, CO₂ and VOC, and let you build fully customised applets. They are reserved for IFTTT Pro+ users.

Ready-made IFTTT applets for blinds and windows

You do not have to start from scratch. IoT Fenster has published applets that are available to every user and can be switched on as they are:

• Security: if a force alert or an opening alert is raised, you get a text message or an email.
• Health: if the CO₂ or VOC level is high, the window opens in the tilt position.
• Schedules: at the time you choose, the windows in a room open or close, or its blinds go up. At dusk, they come down.
• Sunrise and sunset: the blinds in the whole home go up at sunrise and come down at sunset.
• Rain: if it starts to rain, the blinds come down and the tilted windows in the home close.

The whole-home sunrise, sunset and rain applets rely on the Weather Underground weather service. The security ones combine MySmartWindow with IFTTT's SMS and email services.

If none of them is quite right, build your own by combining any of the triggers and actions above.

How to get started with IFTTT, step by step

1. Create an account on ifttt.com or in its mobile app.
2. Open the MySmartWindow app and generate a validation code in the Integration section.
3. Use that code to connect your MySmartWindow account to IFTTT.
4. Switch on one of the published applets, or build your own by choosing a trigger and an action.
5. Test it: set off the trigger and check that the blind or window responds.

Generating the code is covered in the mySmartWindow app manual, in the part on assistants and integrations.

IFTTT does not replace your voice assistant; it works alongside it. With Alexa or Google Home you give commands and create routines inside their own ecosystem. With IFTTT you link your windows and blinds to outside services such as email, text messages or the weather. You will find the guides for all of them on the compatible ecosystems page.

Frequently asked questions

Is IFTTT free?

It has a free account and two paid plans, Pro and Pro+, with more applets and features. MySmartWindow queries require Pro+. Check the current terms on ifttt.com before you choose.

Do I need to know how to code to use IFTTT?

No. You build an applet by choosing a trigger and an action, with no code involved. And if you would rather not build anything, you can switch on the applets that are already published.

What is the difference between a trigger and an action?

The trigger is the event that sets the applet off, such as rain starting or a window being opened. The action is what happens next, such as lowering the blinds or sending you an email.

Can I get a notification if someone forces a window?

Yes. There are published applets that send you a text message or an email when a force alert is raised, meaning an impact or forced entry on the window. There are also applets for the opening alert when the alert system is armed.

What happens to my blinds if the internet goes down?

IFTTT is an online service, so its applets need a connection. You still keep control, though: the physical switch always stays active and, as long as your router has power, you can operate the device locally from your phone.

Start with a single routine

Pick something you do every day, such as lowering the blinds at dusk, and turn it into your first applet. You will find every trigger, action and published applet in the IFTTT integration manual, and if you get stuck, write to us at soporte@iotfenster.com.