TouchControl "activities" consist of one or more devices that are logically grouped together to allow you to perform a task (such as "Watch TV"), control a set of devices (such as "Outdoor Lights"), control devices and elements in a given location (such as "Basement Audio"), or anything else that makes sense to you.

Activities can be shared directly from the TouchControl Server app on macOS or Windows by doing one of the following:

 

• Use the Tools - Export configuration - Activities... menu item, export an activity, and then select "Share Activity" when prompted after exporting.
   

• Use the Tools - Share activity export... menu option to share a previously exported activity.

 

Activity sharing allows you to benefit from the efforts of others who have similar devices, set-ups or environments, and allows others to benefit from yours, helping to minimize some of the overhead required to get up and running, or when adding a new activity to an existing configuration.

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Shared activities contain the individual devices/buttons that have been added to the activity, including any button command, scripts and properties that have been added to those buttons, as well as any interface hosts that are controlled by those buttons.  Interface hosts found in an activity export file are automatically added to TouchControl Server's Interface Manager when importing an activity file.  

 

When exporting/importing shared activities, please note the following important items:

 

• Only individually exported activities may be uploaded to the sharing site.  If you've created a single export file with multiple activities during the configuration export process, you will not be presented with he Share Activity option.  If you would like to share multiple activities, please export and share them separately.
   

• If buttons execute script from external script files, you should select the needed external script files during the sharing/export process.
   

• IP addresses for interface hosts that are added to the export will be replaced with "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" in the exported activity file.  After importing an activity, you should edit any added interface hosts and update the IP address for your environment.
   

• Any HTTP Request buttons that use the HTTPAuth property will have the ID/password replaced with "xxxx" in the exported activity file.  Likewise, HTTP Request interface hosts that are automatically added to the export, and that have HTTP authorization settings enabled, will have the ID/password replaced with "xxxx" in the exported activity file.  After importing an activity with buttons that require HTTP authorization, you should edit the buttons/hosts and update the ID/password for your environment.
   

• Any other information that may be included in button configurations (within commands, script, properties, etc.) will be included in the export file, so please be aware of this when sharing.
   

• The name of the location that your shared activity is contained in within your configuration will be included in the shared activity, and will be automatically created in the configuration of the person using your shared activity, and will be visible on the Activity Sharing page.  If this is a concern, you may wish to duplicate your activity into a more generic location before sharing.
   

• Before sharing an activity, if there are any specific instructions that would be useful for anyone using the activity in their configuration, please include a "*README*" script button in one of the devices and document any pertinent information in the script field.  If you feel comfortable doing so, you might also include your contact information for anyone who might have questions regarding your activity.  This is not a requirement but might be helpful.  When importing an activity, always look for a "*README*" button for useful information.  
   

• NO personally-identifying information (other than info you may include in your device/button configurations and/or README button) is captured during the activity sharing process.
   

• If you re-upload an activity with the same name as an activity that you have previously shared, the new activity will replace the previous activity on the web site.  If you would like to remove a shared activity, currently you'll need to contact support@touchapptech.com to have a shared activity deleted from the site. (Deleting shared activities may be added as a future enhancement.)

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Use the following button to open a page listing the currently shared activities, and providing a link to download the exported activity files to your computer.  Once downloaded, you can import the activities into TouchControl Server using the "Import configuration..." option on the server's "Tools" menu.  Once imported, the activities show up just like any other activity you have added (located within the Location specified by the person who shared the activity), and can be freely modified to suit your specific needs, moved to any other location desired, etc. 

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You can also request a specific activity configuration from the TouchControl community on that page. Activity requests are simply displayed on the page for others to see, and help let other users know if they may have a configuration that could help someone else.

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