Webcore hoplelessly corrupt

#1

A few days ago my WebCore became hopelessly corrupt. I cannot use it or change it or delete it or recreate it.

I have a backup that can’t be restored because I get the message "there was a problem loading the dashboard data… " and I can’t get any further.

I have made sure my smartapp is up-to-date, cleared cache in both the browser and WebCore smartapp in smartthings.

of note, when I try to display the dashboard in the smartapp, it shows me only 4 of about 25 pistons and gives the same error as the browser.

Anyone seen this. I would be happy just to delete the WebCore smartapp and start over but ide will not let me delete it.

#ipaterson

#2

Tagging @ipaterson. :slight_smile:

#3

Well, somehow I managed to delete it and recreate it. Lost all my pistons so I am a bit gunshy to rebuild them all. I am currently looking for a way to restore from my backup.

#4

I lost all my pistons about a week ago with that error message.

Today it happened again when my webcore instance disappeared from the App. So frustrating I have to rebuild my pistons.

#5

This has been happening quite regularly lately, if the pistons were backed up I may be able to help.

#6

I routinely use the image option to save ALL of my pistons to my PC. Will I be able to use those backups to restore my pistons if my webCoRE ever gets corrupted?

#7

I too use this method. However I am using a Mac. Does anybody know the proper way to restore pistons from a backup? Because when I try and open up the backup, it’s just a bunch of gibberish and it’s asking me to select a program to open up the backup with.

#8

The backup file is encrypted with the backup password you selected, you can only use it through the dashboard. New Piston > Import a piston from a backup file then select which piston you want to restore. In cases of a full restore, the list is sorted to help restore the pistons with the fewest dependencies first (i.e. if Piston A calls Piston B you want to have imported Piston B first).

It can be a long process to restore all of your pistons, but once you start an import it remains available in the dashboard and tracks your progress. Once you restore the first piston it’s easy to get back to the import list to restore the next.

#9

In addition to Ian’s suggestion, I also store green snapshots (for import code) and red snapshots (for clarity), so I can easily see what device goes where in the import process…

Perhaps overkill, but for insurance, I am also storing the pure text, found here:

pic

This way, even if a piston is corrupt, I will have a clear image, and pure text to re-create it.

(Note: I am using an external “macro” program to streamline this copy/paste process… Which let’s me do all three types of backups in under 30 seconds per piston)

Automatic Backups
Backup file format
#10

Can you elaborate on that? what program is it?

#11

It is actually an essential program that I have been using since 2000 or so…

It is called KeyText, and basically handles macros of all types:

  • Trigger text (.btw converts to “by the way”)
  • Boilerplate texts (accessible via hotkey or menu)
  • Mouse movements, left click, right click, double click etc
  • Can automatically run programs
  • Change windows
  • Click a specific button
  • Play sound effect
  • Visit specific URL
  • Built-in Scheduler
  • Pauses, Waits, Loops & Calls
  • If/Then/Else logic
  • RegEx and so much more…

With regards to backing up webCoRE, I simply copy the name of my piston, and press Num1 to execute the macro.

  • It automatically clicks on the green camera
  • Waits a couple of seconds for the image to load
  • Right clicks on the image
  • ‘v’ which “Saves image as”
  • Ctrl-V to paste the name of the piston, followed by: " - Green"
  • Clicks “Save”
  • Restores mouse to the previous location
  • Presses Esc to get rid of the floating image.

In this example, it is one key press from me, but the end results are actually 16 key presses, along with perfect delays in between.

I then press Num2 to do the red snapshot similarly.

  • Num3 copies the pure text
  • Switches over to my Text Editor
  • Ctrl-Shift A = creates a new outline header
  • Pastes the entire textual piston
  • Deletes the entire top line /******************/
  • Adds what instance, and what category to the beginning of the line
  • Saves the document
  • Restores mouse to the previous location
  • Plays a tiny sound so I know it is complete

This keeps all my text based backups sorted first by instance, then by category, and finally by name.

Note: When I said I could backup green, red & pure text in under 30 seconds, I should probably mention that over half of that time is how long it takes for the browser to load the 4 pages. KeyText actually processes each command quite fast & efficient.

Summary::

KeyText is truly a great app to reduce repetition, and highly recommended for techies using Windows.

For anyone checking out this app, I will gladly share any macros I have to help get you started.

Bonus:

For PC gamers, the macros also work inside most video games…
(Think: Quality of Life improvements, or reduced grinding, LOL)

Edit: Added a few lines to the list above

Groovy deprecation (end of webCoRE) on ST plaform - December 31, 2022
#12

Hi @WCmore would you mind sharing your macros please? I need to get my pistons backed up asap.
Thanks!