Blackymas/NSPanel_HA_Blueprint v4.3.0 on GitHub

General

This milestone release is not just about adopting a new technical foundation; it's about enhancing the capabilities and experiences of our users through significant performance improvements, more comprehensive API documentation, customizable user interfaces and improved localization.
And with a nice Utilities Dashboard as a bonus!!

Our dedication to refining the user experience and expanding customization options continues, with this release featuring:

Utilities Dashboard: A new addition, offering a customizable overview for essential utility metrics such as solar production, wind energy, EV charging status, battery levels, and water or gas consumption.
Comprehensive API Documentation: Simplifying customization and integration for developers and users, enabling tailored experiences with detailed service documentation.
Localization and Personalization: Advances in user-defined settings, like decimal separators and value translations, contribute to a more intuitive interface. We’ve also streamlined the display to exclude empty pages, making navigation more efficient.
Performance and Functionality: The shift to the ESP-IDF framework not only boosts performance but also paves the way for future enhancements, keeping NSPanel at the forefront of smart control technology.

As we embrace the ESP-IDF framework, we're excited to explore the new horizons it brings to the NSPanel firmware. Dive into v4.3 and discover the advancements that await.

ESP-IDF Framework Transition

With this release, we've officially transitioned to the ESP-IDF framework. This move is part of our ongoing efforts to enhance the memory capacity and expand the features available on the ESP, facilitating broader customization and new functionalities.

For users updating to this version:

Flashing Required: To adopt the ESP-IDF framework, flashing your device using a serial cable is necessary. This step mirrors the initial custom firmware setup process.
Arduino Framework Still Available: For those who prefer the arduino framework or require Over-The-Air (OTA) updates, it remains an option. Detailed guidance on how to choose your framework is provided in our customization documentation.

This transition is a significant milestone for us, promising a robust platform for our community. We're here to help with any questions or assistance needed during this change. For more details and support, visit our community discussion.

Updating

Please review your settings post-update to ensure compatibility. Refer to the update procedures here.

Breaking Changes and Guidance

With this release, we're implementing several important changes. While we strive to improve the panel, we understand that changes can affect your setups. Here's a detailed overview and guidance for a smooth transition:

Home Assistant v2024.3.0 is required. You can see the full version compatibility list here.
Transition to ESP-IDF Framework: This release marks the official switch to the ESP-IDF framework, enhancing performance and allowing for more complex features.
- What to Do: You'll need to flash your device with the new firmware using a serial connection. Detailed instructions are available in our installation guide.
- Support for Arduino Framework: If you're not ready to make the switch or prefer the Arduino framework, it's still supported for OTA updates. See our framework customization documentation for details on how to select your preferred framework.
Several Services Changed: In our pursuit to enhance integration capabilities and future-proof our services, we've undertaken a comprehensive restructuring of our API. This change is aimed at improving functionality and compatibility but may require adjustments to your current automations.
- What to Do: We strongly encourage you to review our updated API documentation. This resource has been meticulously updated to assist you in updating your automation scripts accordingly. Pay special attention to the examples section, which offers valuable insights and practical guidance for adapting your existing setups seamlessly.
15s Hardware Button Press No Longer Restarts the Device: This feature was removed to repurpose the hardware button for more versatile uses.
- What to Do: If you relied on this feature, see our customization guide for alternatives. Additionally, the reset pin remains an option for manual resets.
Relay Fallback Switches Removed: These switches were deprecated and have now been removed to streamline the firmware and reduce memory usage.
- What to Do: For users who utilized customizations to expose these switches, refer to our updated customization guide. Alternatively, use the esphome.xxxxx_init_hardware service for a similar functionality without the memory overhead.
Home Page Redesign: We've redesigned the Home page layout to incorporate an additional value (sensor) and a utilities button, resulting in a minor repositioning of some components. This change enhances the page's functionality, offering you a broader overview of your smart home at a glance. While adjusting to the new layout, you might find some of your usual indicators or controls have shifted places, but they're all still readily accessible, designed with intuitive interaction in mind.

We appreciate your understanding and patience during this transition. Our goal is to ensure NSPanel continues to evolve in a way that enhances your experience and meets future needs. Our community and support channels are open for any questions or assistance you may require.

Overview of noteworthy changes

Transition to ESP-IDF as Default Framework
New API documentation
Selectable font size for screensaver time display
Enhanced Visibility of Hardware Button Bars Across Pages
User-Defined Decimal Separator
Page Light with Power Button
Page Fan with Oscillate Button
Streamlined Interface: No More Empty Pages
Enhanced Localization: Translated Values
Expanded Entity Selection for Home and Climate Pages
Introducing the Utilities Dashboard
Expanded Support for "Lock" Entities on Buttons and Chips
Additional Value on Home Page
Automatic Font Size Adjustment for Entity Page Values

Details of noteworthy changes

Transition to ESP-IDF as Default Framework

We've transitioned to ESP-IDF, enhancing our platform's performance and capabilities. This change promises new possibilities for your projects. Those continuing with the Arduino framework can find instructions for setting framework preferences.
For more information, visit our discussion.

New API documentation

Now all the services available are listed in a comprehensive documentation, making easier for people who want to customize their systems, integrate to other automations and to encourage new collaborators to our repository.
For more details, please visit our API documentation.

Selectable font size for screensaver time display

Now you can chose the font size for your clock display in the screen saver. There are 3 sizes available:

72px

112px

192px

Important

For this time to be displayed you must select a brightness higher than 0 on the device's page (under Settings > Devices & Services > ESPHome).

Warning

Some fonts may not support all the languages.

Warning

Bigger fonts may not fit well on your display and the selected time format.
Please select a different font in that case.

Enhanced Visibility of Hardware Button Bars Across Pages

The hardware button bars, which display the status of entities linked to physical buttons, are now configurable to appear across all pages,
including the screensaver, providing a constant visual reference to your system's status. This update introduces a new setting within the blueprint, allowing you to customize the visibility of these bars according to your preferences. Whether you need continuous monitoring on certain pages or want to maintain a cleaner look on others, this flexibility enhances your control.

Additionally, we've introduced the option to personalize the color of these bars, offering further customization to match your panel's aesthetic or to signify different statuses at a glance.

This feature enhances the NSPanel's functionality by ensuring important status indicators are always within view, tailored precisely to how you use your smart home.

User-Defined Decimal Separator

You can now select the decimal separator for displaying numbers on your NSPanel. This feature allows for consistency with your regional number format preferences, improving the clarity of numerical information. Simply go to the settings to choose between the dot (.) and comma (,) as your decimal separator for a display that matches your preference.

This update aims to enhance the flexibility and usability of the NSPanel interface for users worldwide.

Page Light with Power Button

The page Light has been updated to include a power button, simplifying the process of toggling your light on or off. This intuitive addition allows for quick adjustments directly from the page Light, enhancing the user experience by providing a straightforward control mechanism.

This enhancement streamlines light management, making it more accessible and convenient for everyday use.

Page Fan with Oscillate Button

The Fan page now features an oscillate button, making it easier to control your fan's oscillation settings. This convenient update enables users to activate or deactivate the oscillation function with a single tap, directly from the Fan page itself. It's designed to improve the user experience by offering a simple and effective control option.

This update simplifies fan operation, enhancing accessibility and usability for all users.

Streamlined Interface: No More Empty Pages

We've improved the NSPanel interface by ensuring that only populated pages are displayed, both for button and entities pages. This update creates a more intuitive and clutter-free experience, automatically hiding any pages without assigned entities. There's no need for additional setup; if a page has no entities linked to it, it simply won't appear on your panel, making navigation smoother and more efficient.

Enhanced Localization: Translated Values

In a significant step towards a more localized user experience, the values displayed on the NSPanel are now translated using Home Assistant's state_translated function, introduced in HA v2024.3.0. This means that not only are the project's strings translated, but also values provided by Home Assistant, such as those from text sensors or binary sensors. This enhancement simplifies readability and usability for users interacting with the panel in different languages.

Note

The translations are managed by Home Assistant and will correspond to the language settings
specified under Settings > System > General.

Expanded Entity Selection for Home and Climate Pages

With the latest update, we've significantly broadened the range of entities that can be incorporated into the Home and Climate pages,
aligning these sections with the extensive capabilities of the Entities pages. This enhancement enables a more versatile and detailed representation of your smart home's metrics directly on your NSPanel, from environmental sensors to energy monitors, offering a tailored view of your home's status at a glance.

When combined with the Translated Values, this expanded entity selection not only allows for a more personalized dashboard but also ensures that the information displayed is accessible and understandable, regardless of your preferred language. Together, these features elevate the NSPanel's functionality, providing you with a richer, more contextually relevant interface that adapts to your specific monitoring needs and preferences.

Introducing the Utilities Dashboard

The "Utilities Dashboard" is a versatile feature tailored to offer a straightforward overview of your chosen utility metrics. It's designed for flexibility, allowing you to customize up to six data points, such as solar production, wind energy, EV charging status, battery levels, water, and gas consumption, according to what's relevant to your home. This customization ensures that the dashboard only displays the utilities you're monitoring, maintaining a clean and uncluttered interface.

Expanded Support for "Lock" Entities on Buttons and Chips

We're enhancing the NSPanel's integration capabilities by extending support for "lock" entities to both buttons and chips. This development significantly broadens your ability to interact with and control lock mechanisms directly from the NSPanel. Whether securing your home or managing access to different areas, these updates streamline the control process, integrating seamlessly with your smart home's security setup.

Additional Value on Home Page

In our continuous effort to enhance the NSPanel's utility and efficiency, we're pleased to announce that the Home page now accommodates a fourth value, complete with its icon. This addition allows for a more comprehensive at-a-glance view of your essential metrics directly from the home screen, ensuring that crucial information is always just a glance away.

Automatic Font Size Adjustment for Entity Page Values

We've enhanced the entities pages with an automatic font size adjustment feature to improve the display of values, especially for longer strings or values with lengthy units. This smart adjustment reduces the occurrence of truncated values by dynamically resizing the font based on the string length. While the selection of fonts for the panel remains limited, this automatic resizing significantly enhances readability, ensuring that all displayed information is clear and fully visible at a glance.

Support

For support or more information about this update, visit our GitHub repository or our online documentation.

What's Next?

Discover our upcoming projects in our Milestones.

Special Thanks

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the contributors who have played a pivotal role in enhancing the NSPanel's capabilities and documentation in this release: