How does "Forced" work?

In Switch King Pro, you can define a scheduled event as "forced". Switch King keeps track of the current state of the devices and compares the state with the expected state as defined by the schedules. The checks are performed every second (configurable).

If multiple schedules or events are tied to a single device, some scheduled events may be discarded by the server since they are found to be unnecessary. By defining a scheduled event as "forced", you are signalizing to the server that you want the scheduled event to be carried out even if Switch King is classifying it as unnecessary.

Example

Example 1:

• 1) A schedule with two events; "on" (not forced) 10:00 and "off" 18:00 (not forced).
• 2) A schedule with two events; "on" (not forced) 12:00 and "off" 18:00 (not forced).

The result of the two schedules combined will be that Switch King is sending two signals: "on" at 10:00 and "off" at 18:00.

Example 2:

• 1) A schedule with two events; "on" (not forced) 10:00 and "off" 18:00 (not forced).
• 2)A schedule with two events; "on" (forced) 12:00 and "off" 18:00 (not forced).

The result of the two schedules combined will be that Switch King is sending three signals: "on" at 10:00, "on" at 12:00 and "off" at 18:00.

When to use "forced"

One of the ideas with "forced" is to ensure that a device is in a specific state even if you, for example, used a remote control or not.

If you, in example 1, pressed "off" on a remote control some time between 10:01 and 11:59, the device would be off until the next scheduled "on" command, scheduled to 10:00 the day after.

If you, in example 2, pressed "off" on a remote control some time between 10:01 and 11:59, the device would be off until 12:00, when a forced signal is being sent.

The best usage of "forced" is in combination with scheduled "off" events. If you have a device that is scheduled to be on between 18:00 and 22:00, and you want to turn the device on manually by using a remote at 22:01, you can use a forced "off" in a group schedule tied to all your devices, where "off" is being sent at 01:00. This turns off all devices, even if you've turned them on manually.

Forced in combination with schedules controlled by rules

To use forced events in combination with schedules controlled by rules does not have any advantages. The devices controlled by the rules tied to the schedules will override the forced event.