Updated Tutorial for IFTTT + Internet Button?

Troubleshooting
1

Hello. I’m new here, and I’ve already been getting some great support.

I have been trying to get this tutorial working to no avail: Beginner Tutorial: IFTTT Publish an Event + Spark Internet Button I am getting some “depricated” errors on validation, so I think it might just be outdated.

Has anyone found a good, up-to-date tutorial for the Internet Button + IFTTT that is recommended?

Thanks,
Toby

2

I’ve updated the topic you mentioned to reflect the changes in name (Spark -> Particle) and also renewed some images to match the IFTTT updates. Should all work now, provided you add the library correctly.

3

@Moors7: I haven't forgotten about you - You ROCK! Thank you. The updated tutorial works like a charm!

@Steph: Hello, friend! This was my first experience with the Particle Photon. A couple of notes from this Particle newbie that might help N00bExperience:

  1. Photon/Electron terms are confusing to me in setup documentation...not sure which is which. Don't even know which one I own!
  2. This updated IFTTT tutorial is AMAZING! Beginner Tutorial: IFTTT Publish an Event + Spark Internet Button - #18 by themightymo Many thanks to you and @Moors7 for that.
  3. I have used the Little Bits internet button + IFTTT, and the setup for that was WAY easier - no flashing, no code, etc. It should be noted that the Little Bits device was very unreliable, which is why we are now using the Particle button. +1 for Particle! I'm not sure where Particle is positioning itself in the market, but it was pitched to me: "as easy as Little Bits. You'll have no problem getting this set up." Even with the updated tutorial, it's nowhere near as easy as Little Bits to set up and configure. I'm not upset or even complaining - just letting you know that the marketing pitch I received did not reflect my startup experience with the button.
  4. My button startup experience was difficult. Inside the packaging, there is a little card that pointed me to spark.io/buttonstart - a 404 error! Then when I finally did find a tutorial (after registering on the support community), it had outdated/bad code on it. So my first two setup interactions were a 404 error and a tutorial with code that didn't work. I don't know what the solution is, but, at minimum, it would be great to have a definitively awesome initial setup experience that doesn't require a login.
  5. Integration with IFTTT is super exciting and has endless possibilities. Would be great to see an integration with Zapier as well.
  6. I am super excited about this product and see lots of possibilities for using it IRL - y'all have built something special not only on the product end but also on the support end. Now that I'm deeper in and have learned a bit more about how things work in the ecosystem and code base, I am moving forward with a bit more confidence. Keep up the great work!
4

The 'small' one is the Photon (wifi), the larger one the Electron. The electron has an external antenna, which the Photon does not have. As for the docs, this is the first screen that pops up when you use it for the first time (and/or with empty cache/cookies):

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I haven't got experience with Little bits, but then how exactly would you use and/or customize it's functionality? The Particle Internet Button has an accelerometer, neopixels, buttons and a buzzer. There are WAY too many configurations and use-cases to pre-configure it. It's not 'just' a button. There is demo code available in the library to offer a starting example which you can then expand on.

You've probably gotten the Button during the 'Spark Era'. Transitioning to Particle has caused some discrepancies, this probably being one of them. I'll try and see if I can get someone to fix that link, thanks for reporting!

That too was a remnant of the name change, and the recent IFTTT overhaul. Besides that, the community is (thankfully?) not an official source of examples, though plenty have been posted here. With that in mind, the assurance that tutorials are kept up-to-date on the forums is not a guarantee that can be given. Depending on what it is, we'll do what we can to help out/fix things though. Again, thanks for reporting! There's a tutorial section in the official docs now, that will hopefully be expanded in the future :smile:

You'd have to claim the device to an account somehow, don't you? How does little but do this?

I personally haven't got experience with Zapier, but after a quick glance at their docs, it seems at though they're using a REST API to interact with. If so, then there should be very little limiting the use of Zapier with the Particle products. What exactly are you referring to when you mention a 'integration'?

Glad you like it so far, and don't hesitate to ask if you need any help :)!