A Beginner’s Guide to IFTTT
In our new How To Do It series, we’ll give you everything you need to know to get started and succeed in a wide range of technologies, both online and offline. Here, we arm you with everything you need to know to master the world of IFTTT.
If you think back to your geometry class in high school, you may remember that If / Then statements were used in solving mathematical proofs. But even if math wasn’t your business, you actually use If / Then statements every day: “If it’s raining outside, I’ll bring an umbrella.” Or: “If I eat this donut, I will be very guilty, happy.”
The logic of the If / Then statement to its place in today’s hyper-connected world is the IFTTT website. It is pronounced “gift” and means “If this is then”. With the IFTTT website and companion app, users can create logical statements that help them connect services and internet-connected devices in ways that can make life easier or more interesting.
Here’s what you need to know to “understand.” (Note: we’ll be referring to the browser version of IFTTT in this article, but almost all of the information can be applied to the app as well.)
Starting out
Like almost all other internet services, IFTTT requires you to create an account in order to start using it. Signing up is extremely easy and since the service is completely free there is no need to provide a credit card. Just visit the website and use your email or Google or Facebook accounts to register.
Applets
Everything that IFTTT can do is done with applets. These are tiny programs you can create that use triggers (“If”) to perform actions (“Then this”). For example, one applet might be: “Every time the New York Times publishes a new article in its science section (if), send me an email (Then That).”
It is important to understand that only those companies that have connected to IFTTT will be available for access via applets. For example, you will be able to access the applets that control the Nest thermostat (as well as a few others), but if you have a Vivint thermostat, you’re out of luck because the company did not provide its services through IFTTT.
Since IFTTT has been around since 2011, there are many ready-made applets that you can choose from that already have triggers and actions associated, so chances are good that you will be able to find what you need without having to create your own. applet. We’ll show you how to do this first and then show you how to start from scratch.
Finding a ready-made applet
IFTTT allows users to search for applets in several ways.
If you know what you are looking for, just click the search text in the upper left corner of the screen, type your subject in the search bar, and press Enter. For example, if you’re looking for an applet that can automatically turn on Philips Hue bulbs at sunset, enter “Hue” into the search bar. You will be taken to a page that first lists the services that can be used to create an applet, and below that you will see a list of existing applets. In this case, the one we want appears at the top of the list, so all you have to do is click on it and then click the Enable slider.
This will take you to another page that explains which services need to be activated in order for the applet to work. In this example, these are Weather Underground and Philips Hue. Click OK and you will be guided through the steps required to activate the services required for your applet. In this example, you need to tell Weather Underground where you live and then log into your Philips Hue account.
After you complete the required steps, your applet will be activated and you can start enjoying the new level of interaction.
Browsing
Another way to find IFTTT applets is to click the Discover link at the top of the screen. This will present you with a list of suggested applets based on the ones you have already activated. Also, you will notice that when you click Search at the top of the screen, you will see a handy grid showing you many categories. Click a category and you will be taken to a page with applets grouped by genre.
For example, tap Connected Car and you’ll find applets that do everything from tracking car trips in a Google spreadsheet to helping you remember where you parked your car . In the Weather category, you can get an alert when the local surf is picking up or it will rain tomorrow . The Social Media category, meanwhile, lets you try some clever cross-referencing, like saving photos you’ve tagged on Facebook to Google Photos .
Creating an applet from scratch
If you cannot find an existing applet that suits your needs, you can create one if the company you want to access has an agreement with IFTTT. To get started, click on “My Applets” at the top of the screen, then click on the “New Applet” button in the upper right corner.
Then you will be taken to the screen with the words “if + then, then.” Paradoxically, you need to click the blue + this section of the text.
In this case, we’ll create a simple daily trigger applet. To set it up, click on “Date and Time” and you will be taken to a screen with a description of the service. Choose when you want to activate the trigger (hourly, daily, weekly, etc.) and click on “Create Trigger”.
Once your service is connected, you will be returned to a screen with a large text version of “if this, then this”, only this time the “+ this” section will be replaced with the trigger image you just selected.
Then it’s time to choose the action you want to trigger with the trigger. To do this, click on “+ this”, which will now turn blue.
For this simple example, select SMS, then click the green box that says Send me an SMS. Then you can configure the applet to send you a message at the interval specified in the trigger. Click “Create Action” and your applet will be created. If you want IFTTT to send you a message every time your applet is launched, you can click the slider next to Receive notifications when this applet is launched. Then click “Finish” and you’re done.
Turning applets on and off
After you have activated one or more applets, you can turn them on and off as needed. Just click the text “My Applets” at the top of the screen, click the applet you want to control, and click the “On” button to turn it off.
From these screens, you can also make changes to any applets you create. To do this, click the gear icon in the upper right corner of the applet window and you will see the options you have to customize the applet.
At any time, click on the IFTTT logo in the upper left corner of the screen to return to the home page.
Soon you will see that you can create applets for everything from out of an awkward situation to determine the moment , when the International Space Station passes over you . But be careful: you can create an applet that will send you off the IFTTT site if you spend too much time on it, because all those IFTTTs can be pretty addictive!